Alleged sly thief caught on CCTV

Godfrey Mashudu Rabali was arrested for allegedly scamming and stealing from eight shops in Phalaborwa and Hoedspruit, as well as two schools, one in Tzaneen and the other in Phalaborwa.

Two weeks ago the man, posing as a parent entered Tzaneen Primary School after school hours and allegedly stole two laptops. Grade 4 teacher, Jacques Rossouw told the Herald that after classes ended for the day on Wednesday, August 20, he left his bag with his laptop and charger in his office that he shares with two other teachers.

He then continued to attend a meeting. He said the meeting lasted about 30 minutes but when he returned, his bag was not there. “We went to the security offices to check the CCTV footage. It showed that after everyone had left, a man entered the school premises.” In the footage, a man with a face mask, wearing a cap is seen walking through the school corridors and presumably checking for unlocked classes and offices.

“Some of the classes were not locked because cleaning staff still had to clean some of the classrooms,” Rossouw explained. The video shows the man entering a room, picking up a laptop, and placing it on the desk. He then goes into another room and returns with another laptop. The alleged thief then leaves the premises. Rossouw said that he reported it to the police who were supposed to take fingerprints but they never arrived.

Also read: Police are looking for laptop thief

He said that the police’s forensic officers visited the school the following day (Thursday), but were unable to lift fingerprints as the office where he left his bag is shared by three people and it was not possible to single out the prints belonging to the suspect. Police in Tzaneen said that besides the Tzaneen Primary School incident, other businesses have also been targeted. In Hoedspruit, the same man allegedly stole from five shops of which three are in the Kamogelo Centre.

A source who wants to remain anonymous and who is also a victim of the thefts told the Herald that she reported the thief to the police after seeing a social media post from another victim in Phalaborwa who was allegedly also scammed by the same person. From screenshots of CCTV footage, she saw that the person who stole from her was wearing the same clothes when he stole from another shop in Phalaborwa. She said the alleged thief was arrested in Hoedspruit after he was caught by the police on Friday, July 22.

On Monday, July 25, he appeared in the Hoedspruit Magistrate’s Court and was released on bail. “I told the police that the suspect is being sought on other cases in Phalaborwa and Tzaneen, but somehow he managed to get bail. “I think it might be due to a lack of communication. Other victims from Hoedspruit were supposed to identify the man in a police line-up, but that never happened.

“At the police station, he was wearing the same cap as the one on the CCTV footage. He also mentioned he was in Phalaborwa on the morning he was arrested. When I saw the posts about people being robbed, I was able to connect the incidents.” In Phalaborwa, the man is allegedly also connected to an incident whereby a man pretended to be a parent at Kingfisher Private School and entered the premises. Police in Hoedspruit said the investigation is ongoing