JOHANNESBURG: Five men were charged with stealing the Nobel peace prize of South Africa's leading anti-apartheid hero Desmond Tutu during a burglary at his home in Soweto, police said.

“The police charged them with housebreaking, theft and being in possession of stolen goods,” police spokesman Superintendent Thembi Nkwashu said. The five, aged 21 to 39, are all expected to appear before magistrates in Johannesburg on Wednesday, the spokesman added.

Apart from the gold Nobel medal, which the former archbishop of Cape Town won in 1984, electrical goods including two television sets and a DVD player were taken during the weekend break-in at the house in the Soweto township, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The goods were recovered on Monday.

Affectionately known as “The Arch,” the 75-year-old Tutu is currently in Geneva for a series of meetings, his office said on Tuesday.—AFP