“When we saw this, we couldn’t just let it slide,” said a relative of a man accused of buying stolen property that belonged to Gift of the Givers. The relative spoke to journalists on Tuesday 10 January in Cape Town, as his family returned the stolen items to the humanitarian organisation. 

A break-in took place between 4am and 6am on Monday 9 January during scheduled power cuts in Penlyn Estate, where the Cape Town offices of Gift of the Givers are located. Staff arrived at work after 8am to find the premises ransacked. 

Read in Daily Maverick: Vital equipment stolen from Gift of the Givers’ Cape Town office during early morning break-in

By Monday afternoon in Belgravia, the man said his seven-year-old nephew had noticed items in the house and alerted his grandmother who then called other family members. Among the items were a photo frame, a gas tank, and a box with the Gift of the Givers labelling on it. 

Items that were stolen from Gift of the Givers during a break-in on 9 January. A family from Belgravia returned the stolen items after a relative purchased them. (Photo: Suné Payne/Daily Maverick)

“We saw it all on Facebook — so we immediately saw it stolen.”

According to the man, the items were bought in nearby Hanover Park by his relative. By Monday evening, the family was informed that their relative had been arrested. 

On Tuesday morning, the family gathered to pack up the boxes and went to a nearby mosque to ask a spiritual leader for guidance. 

“We came back and dropped everything here [at the Gift of the Givers’ offices], everything that we knew didn’t belong to us,” the man said. 

Speaking during an impromptu briefing at the NGO’s offices on Tuesday morning, Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said eleven people — not 10 as indicated by police — had been arrested. He confirmed several items such as a kettle, microwave, and some personal protective equipment were stolen, adding to the prior previous list of stolen goods including a laptop, televisions and clothing meant for fire victims. 

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“In this kind of situation, you are dependent on community support. Fortunately, we have a very good understanding with communities in this country. After a short while, we started getting messages after we made the announcement that things were missing” he said. 

People started identifying who was involved and the items that were being put up for sale, according to Sooliman. Soon, reliable information began filtering in about where the products were. “Police managed to arrest 10 people and apparently last night, they managed to arrest the kingpin,” said Sooliman. 

“We need that kind of awareness in the community,” said Sooliman, addressing the family that returned the stolen goods bought by their relatives. 

“They came this morning, full of remorse and heartbroken that their kid could do this,” he said and described them as courageous for speaking out against their relative’s actions. 

Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman on 10 January 2023 as he spoke to media following a break-in at the organisation’s Cape Town office. (Photo: Suné Payne/Daily Maverick)

Sooliman said that in the 30 years of Gift of the Givers’ existence, only two break-ins have occurred — this one and another in Johannesburg. 

Responding to questions about the security of the office, Sooliman said: “this office is alarmed, the problem is with load shedding, the alarm died and we are in the process of installing the inverters — we’ve been doing it in other offices and warehouses but because of December, everything is closed.” 

Thus far, costs are estimated at between R50,000 to R100,000 for thefts and damage to infrastructure such as desks. 

Police confirmed late on Monday evening that a joint operation by members of the Maitland Flying Squad, SAPS K9, National Intervention Unit, Metro Police, Metro K9, and Law Enforcement was undertaken after information was received that four premises in Hanover Park were storing suspected stolen property. 

“Upon searching the identified premises various stolen property was recovered which was identified by a representative of the organisation as their property taken during the commission of the said crime. Ten suspects (males and females) aged between 20 and 40 were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property and detained at Philippi SAPS for further investigation,” said Captain Frederick van Wyk from the Western Cape police media centre. 

“The members were thanked for their good work and working relationship with other law enforcement agencies…community involvement is pivotal in the fight against crime, and they were also thanked for their cooperation and willingness to provide the necessary information that led to the arrest of the suspect,” said van Wyk. DM.