Whiff of cologne sinks 'thief'

2008-07-23 21:19

Sydney Masinga

Nelspruit - Police have launched an internal investigation into an officer who was allegedly caught red-handed with goods stolen from Nelspruit mayor Lassy Chiwayo.

The still unnamed policeman was caught with stolen electronic goods during a manhunt in the low-cost suburb of Tekwane South by Chiwayo's bodyguards on Monday night.

Senior Superintendent Eric Masiya said: "The Nelspruit police have launched a formal internal investigation into the incident. We will determine whether the officer was, in fact, in possession of stolen goods, and if so how he came to be."

Masiya was unable to say whether the officer would be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, or whether any other officers were implicated in two burglaries at Chiwayo's official residence.

Goods valued at R100 000 were stolen, including expensive clothes and personal effects, a home-theatre system, and other electronics.

'Caught thief in my garden'

Chiwayo launched a street-by-street search for suspects after local police apparently failed to investigate leads and actually set free a suspect who was apprehended in Chiwayo's yard by his bodyguards during the second burglary earlier this month.

"My guards chased and caught the thief in my garden in broad daylight before he could escape over the wall," said Chiwayo.

"We called police and handed him over - but they later let him go without charging him or consulting with me. When police repeatedly failed to return calls, we decided to launch our own search."

One of Chiwayo's bodyguards soon spotted the same suspect who had been apprehended previously.

"The fool must be one of South Africa's dumbest criminals. He was wearing my very expensive cologne, boldly walking through the streets.

"My guys smelt him first, and then noticed that he was wearing my takkies. We shadowed him and called in an officer from the KaNyamazane police, who interrogated the suspect. He quickly confessed," said Chiwayo.

"The suspect then took us to various houses in the neighbourhood, where we recovered more items that had been stolen during the two separate incidents at my house."

Chiwayo confirms that one of the people found with stolen goods was a police officer.

"Maybe that is why local police have repeatedly failed to do anything about the thefts," he said.

The original suspect has been re-arrested and appeared briefly in Nelspruit Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. He was not asked to plead and was remanded pending further police investigation.

Questions to be answered

Inspector Dawie Pretorius of Nelspruit police said on Wednesday that Chiwayo's complaints would be discussed at a senior management meeting on Thursday.

"We will be able to answer questions about the matter only after this meeting," said Pretorius.

Among the questions are why police failed to collect evidence from Chiwayo's house after both burglaries, why the suspect was released, why police failed to keep Chiwayo informed about their investigation, and why police were allegedly rude to Chiwayo and his bodyguards when they tried to get information.

- African Eye