This was the second burglary at the State Security Agency in five years after the theft of R17 million in December 2015.

JOHANNESBURG - An undisclosed amount of money and sensitive documents have reportedly been stolen from the offices of the State Security Agency (SSA) in Pretoria.

The Sunday Independent reported that, two weeks ago, robbers apparently walked into a safe at the office in Lyttelton and left with classified documents, an undisclosed amount of money in local and foreign currency, and CCTV cameras in what is believed to be an inside job.

This was the second burglary at the SSA in five years after the theft of R17 million in December 2015.

According to five security cluster sources who spoke the publication on condition of anonymity, there was no sign of forced entry in the latest robbery as the safe was demagnetised before the robbery.

The CCTV cameras were reportedly stolen while the security guards who were responsible for guarding the multi-million-rand safe were not stationed at their post.

The robbery was also believed to be “politically-motivated” in an effort to embarrass State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, who is said to be at loggerheads with some senior SSA officials over the spy agency’s restructuring, political control, and future.

Dlodlo’s detractors apparently wanted to use the robbery as ammunition for President Cyril Ramaphosa to remove her should there be a Cabinet reshuffle.

SSA spokesperson Mava Scott confirmed to the Sunday Independent that the robbery did indeed take place and investigations were under way.

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed that the unit was investigating a case of burglary at the SSA, but he declined to confirm how much money was taken and how the robbers managed to gain entry to the premises.