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'Crime is out of control'
19/02/2007 12:01 - (SA)
Durban - The burglary of the Durban home of KwaZulu-Natal Safety and Security MEC Bheki Cele was "proof that crime is out of control" the Inkatha Freedom Party said on Monday.
Reacting to the news that Cele's home in Durban's plush Umhlanga suburb was burgled on Saturday, KwaZulu-Natal IFP leader Lionel Mtshali said: "If the ANC government needed proof that crime is out of control in South Africa, they got it."
Cele's home was broken into on Saturday afternoon while he was attending an African National Congress meeting.
Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Phindile Radebe said on Monday morning that she could confirm the burglary, but could not confirm any other details.
The MEC's spokesperson Nonkululeko Mbatha said: "Of course he is angry, but more so, he is very concerned."
She told Sapa that police were trying to determine whether the burglars knew the house they were breaking into belonged to the Cele or whether it was a random burglary.
Asked if the burglary was staged to embarrass Cele, she said: "We cannot say that. We need to establish facts first."
Mtshali said: "We were naturally very sorry to hear about the burglary at Mr Cele's home. This incident has certainly brought home - if you excuse the pun - the point that crime is out of control in this province and country.
"The message of Mr Cele's burglars is clear: no one is exempt. The vulnerability of a ministerial home shows that we all are potential victims of crime," said Mtshali.
He said he hoped the incident would lead to both the provincial and national governments would "intensify efforts to eradicate crime".
"As the official opposition (in KwaZulu-Natal), my party, the IFP, condemns the ANC's reckless denial that crime is out of control in this province and country. In our books, this is the ultimate evidence of government's failure to tackle crime."
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