Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on Tuesday condemned the break-in at the offices of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in which two laptops belonging to prosecutors, as well as hard drives, were stolen.

Committee Chairperson, Dr Mathole Motshekga, expressed concern regarding this latest break-in at a security institution, saying this could spark a fear that  organisations or institutions tasked with investigating or prosecuting cases were being targeted.

Last week, the offices of the Hawks in Pretoria were burgled and financial and human resources records stolen. In March, the offices of the Chief Justice was broken into. Computers with the employment information of judges and employees were stolen.

The NPA burglary is believed to have occurred during the early hours of Monday morning when thieves gained access to the highly secure Church Square building in Pretoria. The committee said in a statement that the once inside‚ the perpetrators had made their way to the second floor‚ bypassing several offices.

“They then went to several rooms‚ apparently used by prosecuting staff‚ and climbed into them through windows above the doors.”

Dr Motshekga appealed to the South African Police Services and other authorities to speedily complete its investigation on the matter and to finalise court cases on it.

“This cannot be allowed to happen in a constitutional democracy. Institutions fighting crime cannot become targets of crime.”