Share

Two in court not charged with Chief Justice break-in

Pretoria - Two people who appeared in the Mamelodi Magistrate's Court on Wednesday are not linked to the robbery at the Office of the Chief Justice, their lawyer said.

Given Msimango, 20, and Bigboy Jose, 37, were arrested on Monday and appeared briefly in court on Wednesday afternoon.

Lawyer Sammy Mahlangu said his clients were not linked to the robbery at the office in Midrand.

Fifteen computers were stolen from the office's human resources unit on Saturday morning. They contained important information about judges and officials in the Office of the Chief Justice, the Constitutional Court, high courts, Supreme Court of Appeal, and other specialised courts.

Also read: Police seek man to solve Chief Justice Office break-in - Phahlane

"According to the charges levelled against them, there is no mention of any computers that were stolen in the chief justice's offices," Mahlangu said.

"The charges against them relate to firearms and no mention was made in the media about any firearms having been stolen at the chief justice's office. On this basis they were not linked to the crimes."

Arrests

Msimango was charged with illegal possession of unlicensed firearms and 36 rounds of ammunition. Jose was charged with four counts of possession of falsified identity documents.

Msimango had previous convictions for common robbery and Jose had a previous conviction for fraud.

The matter was postponed until March 30 for a bail application.

Earlier, acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane said a multi-disciplinary team, led by the deputy commissioner for crime detection in Gauteng, Major-General Mary Motsepe, had been hard at work finding the culprits.

Their efforts had culminated in the arrests of three men in Mamelodi over the past few days. The team followed leads and searched several addresses in Mamelodi for the stolen computers and the perpetrators.

Police did not prosecute the third man arrested.

Various items including unlicensed firearms and forged identity documents were seized during the searches.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 557 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 799 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.39
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.32
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE