Johannesburg - South African President Thabo Mbeki became one of the latest victims of his country's notoriously high crime rates at the weekend after burglars stripped the roof of his Pretoria residence of tens of thousands of rand of aluminium wiring.

The burglars climbed onto the roof at the weekend - a holiday weekend - and made off with between 20,000 and 30,000 rand worth of wiring that was installed recently to protect electronic equipment against lightning strikes, a police spokeswoman in Pretoria said.

The contractor responsible for installing the wiring told Beeld newspaper the company had been due to do work on the roof on Sunday but were told to come back after the weekend because the president was still sleeping.

When they returned on Tuesday morning they discovered the theft.

South Africa has some of the highest crime rates in the world and its criminals are among the most brazen.

Last year intruders got past security at Pelindaba nuclear research facility outside Pretoria, getting all the way to the control room.

Thieves have also managed to get past security at several foreign embassies and diplomatic residences.

South Africa recorded over 126,000 armed robberies in the year to March 2007.

Theft of cables and wiring has spiralled in recent years on the back of booming prices for some metals. (dpa)