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Some of the equipment stolen from a new “smart school” has been recovered thanks to a concerted effort from the community, the police and officials from the Gauteng education department.
Some of the electronic goods stolen from Menzi Primary School this week was discovered at a shop in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon.
The robbery took place at the recently opened Langaville smart school in the early hours of Tuesday morning. City Press reported earlier this week that among the stolen equipment were 185 learner tablets, eight teacher laptops, two data projectors, three desktop computers and petty cash of less than R500.
According to Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, a meeting convened between his department and the community of Langaville (to provide an update on developments regarding the robbery) on Wednesday evening proved to be productive.
“Our meeting with the community was a huge success and contributed hugely to the discovery of the some of the equipment. Members of the community came with relevant information that assisted the police. As the department we would like to thank both the police and members of the community for all they have done,” he said.
It was alleged by two patrollers who were on duty at the school on the night of the robbery that they were locked in a strongroom with their arms bound while seven suspects proceeded to loot the school.
Spokesperson for the Gauteng department of education, Steve Mabona, told City Press that about 16 tablets and three laptops had been found by the police on Friday.
“All we know so far is that four suspects were arrested at the shop,” he said, adding that he could not comment any further.
Lesufi said that his department was contacted by police after receiving information about the possible whereabouts of the equipment.
“We were called by the police to a shop [in Johannesburg] that sells electronic devices so we could identify the equipment they had discovered. We went there with our own IT specialists and we were able to confirm that some of the devices there did indeed belong to us,” he said.
According to Lesufi, police were currently questioning the four suspects and would be continuing with the process of investigating the case. Due to this, spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni SAPS East Cluster Captain Johannes Ramphora could not comment on the matter at the time of going to press.
