By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
Former South African Revenue Service (Sars) executive Johann van Loggerenberg said on Tuesday his home was broken into in the early hours of the morning, less than a week after a similar incident at the home of fellow state-capture whistleblower Themba Maseko.
“My home and home office were broken into during the early hours of this morning by criminals,” Van Loggerenberg said in a statement issued through his attorneys.
This follows the release of part one of the State Capture Commission of Inquiry Report where Van Loggerenberg’s evidence was heavily relied on.
On Friday, two men tried to gain access to Maseko’s home.
Van Loggerenberg said he was deliberately not expanding on these so as not to compromise the police investigation into the robbery.
It’s unclear what exactly was stolen from the property, but Van Loggerenberg said he had more copies of the original records in safekeeping.
While he has thanked the police officers who attended to the crime, Van Loggerenberg, criticised the government’s handling of crimes against whistleblowers, saying he always had to address security risks against him at his own cost.
He noted that, as well as blowing the whistle on state capture as it played out at SARS and the state intelligence services, and testifying before the state capture commission on this, he was also a complainant and state witness in cases under investigation by the inspector general of intelligence and the Independent Directorate of the National Prosecuting Authority.
“This is public knowledge. Those I have implicated are aware of the nature of the evidence against them. I have had to live with receiving various threats and warnings against my safety for many years, from as far as 2014 and onwards.”
Van Loggerenberg said that although he has consistently reported these threats to the authorities, neither the police, the revenue service nor the intelligence structures have responded to his requests for help.