Former Social Development director general Zane Dangor's home was invaded by a gang who intimidated his family but didn't steal anything.
"My gut feeling is it's a form of intimidation," Dangor told eNCA on Monday evening.
"I do not think this is random. It could be an attempt at intimidation," he told News24.
Dangor told eNCA and News24 that his son and daughter, who had been home at the time, told him that a brown car and a white car had pulled up outside the family's home. "My 26-year-old son and my daughter were at home. They used the excuse that I sent them to fix something," he told News24.
The assailants grabbed the throat of the domestic worker and injured his son's arm when he tried to fight them off. They went through the house but did not steal anything.
"I can only think that it is an attempt at intimidation. When I spoke to the CEO of Sassa today, he said that someone in a brown car tried to sell his wife something yesterday. Luckily he had better security," Dangor told News24.
He could not say if it was related to the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa). "But I feel like it is too bizarre. They didn't take anything. My son's iPad and many other valuables were there for them." He said police wouldn't open a case as nothing was stolen.
Dangor was appointed as director general at Social Development Department in November and resigned earlier this month, citing a breakdown in his relationship with Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini.
The department and its agency Sassa have been embroiled in internal and external conflicts over the attempts to extend the illegal contract with Cash Paymaster Services which delivers 17 million social grants. On Friday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the CPS contract must continue for another year while Sassa starts taking over the grants, but blocked CPS's ability to use grant beneficiaries data, for example, for selling them loans. The Concourt also told Dlamini to explain before the end of this month why she should not be held personally liable for the legal costs of the case; estimates are that the legal costs could run into millions of rand.
Less than 24 hours after the Concourt delivered the judgment, the Office of the Chief Justice was broken into and 15 computers holding the personal information of all the country's judges were stolen. Observers have speculated that the burglary was linked to the court case.