SOUTH AFRICA STOLEN COMPUTERS SEIZED 08 p kids prize pc: "Kids’ prize PC seized

By CHRISTELLE DU TOIT

JOHANNESBURG – Top matriculants in 2005 were given stolen computers by the Department of Education in Gauteng.

The Citizen has learned how the province’s top grade 12 students from that year received congratulatory PCs from the government
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Yet it is suspected they were part of a consignment of stolen computers that disappeared from OR Tambo International Airport in November 2005.

The father of one of the girls in question, who does not want to be named for fear of victimisation, yesterday told The Citizen how a police officer from the airport came to his place of work earlier this month and confiscated his daughter's computer, a year after it was given to her.

“He (the police officer) had a whole list of serial numbers of stolen computers and my daughter’s was on there,” says the father. “He had just come from another former top student’s house and was on his way to another.

“He had a pamphlet from the department with the names of their top achievers for 2005 and was tracking the computers down that way.”

The investigating officer at OR Tambo International Airport’s police office confirmed the confiscations. He did not want to comment.

Gauteng Department of Education spokesman Panyaza Lesufi yesterday confirmed the SA Police Service had been in contact with them regarding the computers given to the class of 2005.

“The police asked us not to comment on the matter, but we can say we bought the computers from a legitimate dealer that has branches across the country,” said Lesufi.

Asked why they had not contacted affected students at once, Lesufi said the SAPS had asked them to prepare a letter to the students they (the police) would deliver.

The parent The Citizen spoke to said he had no complaint about the police doing their job, but “The question is, how does the department (of education) give away illegal goods?

“Where are they buying these computers from? At the very least they could have phoned to warn us, and offer our children new computers.”