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Security of Judges Under Review After Burglary at Office of the Chief Justice

A spokesman says this is an opportunity to review the security of all 250 judges in the country.
Sarah Evans
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Sarah Evans is a freelance journalist and a researcher at Code for South Africa.

South African Chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng (2nd from R top row) reads the ruling during the judgment in the matter of Democratic Alliance vs. Speaker of the National Assembly and others at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg on March 31, 2016. South Africa's top court delivered a damning verdict against President Jacob Zuma, saying he flouted the constitution over public funds used to upgrade his private residence, sparking immediate calls for him to be impeached. Zuma 'failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution as the supreme law of the land,' Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said in a strongly-worded ruling from the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg. / AFP / POOL / felix dlangamandla (Photo credit should read FELIX DLANGAMANDLA/AFP/Getty Images)
South African Chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng (2nd from R top row) reads the ruling during the judgment in the matter of Democratic Alliance vs. Speaker of the National Assembly and others at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg on March 31, 2016. South Africa's top court delivered a damning verdict against President Jacob Zuma, saying he flouted the constitution over public funds used to upgrade his private residence, sparking immediate calls for him to be impeached. Zuma 'failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution as the supreme law of the land,' Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said in a strongly-worded ruling from the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg. / AFP / POOL / felix dlangamandla (Photo credit should read FELIX DLANGAMANDLA/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images

The security of all 250 judges in the country is being reviewed, The Times reported.

The Office of the Chief Justice was burgled in the early hours of Saturday morning in Midrand.

This was less than a day after the damning social grants judgment, handed down by the Constitutional Court, which accused government of incompetency in its handling of the crisis.

The robbers reportedly stole 15 computers from the human resources department of the Office of the Chief Justice, ignoring those other departments, like finance. The computers contained personal information about judges.

A multidisciplinary team was established to investigate the theft.

On Monday, a spokesman for the Office, Nathi Mncube said the burglary highlighted a need to review the security of the Bench across the courts.

"This is an opportunity to review all security measures relating to judges," he told The Times.

A source told the paper that the robbers left behind most of the computer monitors, and entered through an emergency door.

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