Minister Thembi Simelane mugged in broad daylight

Associates are worried that there might be more than meets the eye in the incident in which Minister of Human Settlement Thembi Simelane was robbed of a cellphone, and another where a laptop was stolen.

- By Ngwako Malatji

Minister of Human Settlements and former Justice Minister Thembi Simelane was mugged in broad daylight by two brazen men who followed her to a health centre in Pretoria about a month ago.

The unknown riff-raff pounced on Simelane when she was collecting her medication at Die Wilgers Day Care Clinic on April 30, and made away with her luxury iPhone 16 cellphone.

The robbery occurred two weeks after one of her ministry’s laptops was stolen in Cape Town, where she spends most of her time as a member of parliament.

Given that Simelane has been under attack recently, this has left some of her close associates concerned about her safety and questioning whether the incidents were purely criminal or coordinated by those who planned to retrieve her personal information from the gadget and use it to soil her reputation.

A highly placed source who did not want to be named said the incident had left Simelane very upset. “Although it could be an act of criminality, we are, as her close associates, concerned that this could be part of a bigger plot to tarnish her.