The Western Cape SAPS has confirmed that a criminal case is currently under investigation after the theft of the Nobel Peace Prize belonging to South Africa’s last apartheid leader, former president FW de Klerk.
The Nobel Peace Prize was allegedly stolen during a burglary at his home.
Speaking to The Star on Thursday, Western Cape police appealed for anyone with information about the theft to contact Crime Stop.
The FW de Klerk Foundation this week announced that the Nobel Peace Prize had been stolen from De Klerk’s home in Cape Town about six months ago.
The Nobel Foundation, the custodian of the Nobel Peace Prize, awards the prize to outstanding global citizens.
In 1993, the foundation jointly awarded De Klerk and former president Nelson Mandela the prize.
“Kindly be advised that the criminal case cited in your enquiry is under investigation by SAPS detectives. No arrests have been effected as yet. Any person with information is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop,” said Western Cape SAPS provincial spokesperson Colonel André Traut.
Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association spokesperson Carl Niehaus found the theft amusing, saying that “finally” the Nobel Peace Prize had been liberated.
He went as far as saying the theft had the ring of poetic justice to it.
“So the Nobel Peace Prize is finally liberated from that racist criminal’s home! He should never have received the Nobel Peace Prize in the first place. How in heaven's name did the Nobel Peace Prize committee on the first instance (award) the peace prize to someone who committed crimes against humanity? It was a totally aberration. This theft has the ring of poetic justice to it,” Niehaus said.
Twitter users reacted differently to the news of the theft. Many seemed happy and made jokes about the incident.
Political analyst Kim Heller took to her Twitter page and posted a message saying “good” in reaction to reports the Nobel Peace Prize had been stolen.
“Good! The Nobel Peace prize of the UnNoble former apartheid leader FW De Klerk whose racist regime killed and destroyed black lives was stolen in a robbery,” Heller said.
Twitter user Patrix Leanardo wrote: “Now can someone steal the iPad of Mr Phala-Phala”.
In 2020, EFF leader Julius Malema called on the Nobel Foundation to revoke De Klerk’s peace prize for making comments that apartheid was not a crime against humanity.
The party said De Klerk should be stripped of the award because he was an apartheid denialist who did not deserve to keep the award.
Additional information IOL