SIPHO’S EXTRADITION FILE, OTHERS STOLEN

MANZINI – The extradition case against incarcerated businessman, Sipho Shongwe, may have hit a snag as his file, together with those belonging to others, were stolen at the Manzini Magistrates Court.

This was when the office of the Principal Magistrate, David Khumalo, was burgled. The break-in is said to have happened on Tuesday night. The robber, who was caught on the closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, took files that were related to pending criminal cases.
Files that contain information on civil matters were not tampered with.

Stacked

The files were stacked on the principal magistrate’s desk while others were in a pile which was next to the wall.
To disguise which files he took from the principal magistrate’s chambers, the robber strew the remaining dockets across the floor; such that the various contents of the files were mixed, disorienting any chance of making sense from them.

According to impeccable sources, the thieving suspect first tried to gain access into the office through interfering with the door lock. He poked the side of the door with a crowbar; but this did not work for him.

Window

Determined to attain his goal, the thief then ignored the door that was not bending his way and opted to gain entry through a window.
He is said to have taken advantage of one dysfunctional window, which was said to be without a handle and pulled it open.
Meanwhile, first to discover that something was amiss was Principal Magistrate Khumalo, who when inserting the key into the door lock noted that the door had been tampered with.

Magistrate Khumalo’s suspicions that something was amiss, were confirmed when he entered his office. He found the files strewn across the floor. After close inspection, he noted that the monitor screen connected to the cameras was also taken by the thief.

It is suspected that the thief believed that taking the screen would also wipe out the CCTV recordings that captured him engaging in his devious ways. While picking the files he wanted from the principal magistrate’s office, the thief had all the time in the world.
This is because by the look of things, he perused through the pile of files and even placed some on Magistrate Khumalo’s chair – from which his black robe was hanging.

Also, while on his mission, the thief did not bother to touch most of the things that were in the office.
This is because a pile of old newspapers was not touched.

Folded

They were found nicely folded on top of a filing cabinet.
Following Magistrate Khumalo’s discovery, he went to report the incident at the Manzini Police Station before further reporting the matter to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

 On the other hand, when reporters from this publication went to the court, they found Magistrate Mthokozisi Dlamini with a senior police officer, Mphatsi Shabangu and another officer.

They were inspecting the office and later on collected fingerprints that may lead to the identification of the suspect. It is said some fingerprints were found on the window panes and will be cross checked with those in the police data base.
Meanwhile, the principal magistrate said according to his analysis, the robber was after the criminal files. He said this was because the files on civil matters were not tampered with.

Magistrate Khumalo supposed that the robber took the computer set because he thought it was used to record the CCTV footages.
He said if the robber wanted the computer set, he could have broken into any other office because most of them had the computers.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the matter and said police were investigating it.

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