Former social development director-general Zane Dangor believes the break-in at his home on Monday was intended to shut him up.
"... The message I take from it: I must shut up. I has to be linked to our work," Dangor told The Times.
Dangor resigned earlier this month, citing to News24 a breakdown in the relationship between himself and the Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini over disagreements on Sassa's legal obligations to the Constitutional Court, regarding the payment of social grants.
On Monday, men pretending to be there to do repairs reportedly overpowered a housekeeper and broke the security gate to his home, to gain entry. Dangor's son and daughter were at home.
According to The Times, Dangor called the break-in "intimidation".
Dangor reportedly said: "I don't want to jump the gun but these guys had enough time to steal valuables in the house. My TV was unplugged. It was going to take it for repairs. They could have taken it."
It was also reported that one of the vehicles used during the break-in could have been used during what appeared to have been an attempt to gain access to Sassa CEO, Thokozani Magwaza's house on Monday.
Dangor told The Times: "Combine that with what happened at Magwaza's house -– I feel it is an act of intimidation...I would have been comfortable if they had stolen some stuff. When you go through the rooms and take nothing, my gut feeling says it's intimidation. And when I spoke to Magwaza and he told me about what happened at his house, that freaked me out."
He told the paper that there were two cars outside his house -- one was the same colour as the one outside Dangor's house. He said one could not say if it was the same car, but that it was "quite coincidental".