Archbishop Desmond Tutu has expressed his gratitude to the South African Police Service for swiftly recovering items stolen from his home, including his Nobel Peace Prize.
”Archbishop Tutu said he and Mrs Tutu felt dreadfully violated by the break-in, but considerably reassured by the efficiency of the police,” said a statement from Tutu’s office on Tuesday.
The Tutus were abroad when burglars broke into their home in Orlando West, Soweto, on Sunday.
Police recovered the goods after receiving a tip-off and five men were arrested on Monday.
Thieves had stolen a Nobel Peace Prize medal won by Tutu in the weekend heist, but the gold medallion was later recovered.
Johannesburg police Superintendent Thembi Nkwashu said the medal — awarded to Tutu in 1984 when he won the prize for his work against apartheid — was among a number of items stolen from his Soweto home on Sunday.
”Immediately after midnight we arrested five suspects and recovered some of the stolen goods, including, remarkably, the Nobel Peace Prize medal,” Nkwashu said. — Sapa, Reuters