Canaan Mdletshe

Canaan Mdletshe

A taxi driver and three other suspects accused of stealing 18 computers from a high school appeared briefly in the Harding magistrate's court yesterday.

They were charged with housebreaking and theft.

Njabulo Zulu, Vuyani Madwe, Vusumuzi Dlamini and Msizi Zulu were arrested last Tuesday at Umlazi and Harding.

Their arrest follows a break-in at Mdalushi High School in Machi location, where computers were among the items stolen.

Police spokesman Superintendent Zandra Wiid said police received information that led them to Umlazi, south of Durban, where the main suspect was arrested.

"Follow-up investigations led them back to the Harding area where three more suspects, including a taxi driver, who transported the stolen computers, were arrested," Wiid said.

"Fifteen were recovered in Umlazi, while three, of which two were burnt, were found in the Harding area.

"A total of eighteen computers were recovered," she added.

The case was postponed to next Tuesday for legal representatives for the accused to be appointed.

Provincial education spokesman Ntokozo Maphisa praised the police for their work in recovering the computers.

He said their efforts in ensuring that children in the area received the best possible education were to be highly commended.

"Certainly, the stealing of such important equipment could have affected many pupils.

"We are grateful that the police worked around the clock, not only to recover the computers but also to arrest the suspects," Maphisa said.