TRUCK TORCHING: Two more trucks torched in KwaZulu-Natal

Two more trucks have been set alight on the N2 highway near Empangeni. This brings the total number of torched trucks to 16 in the last 72 hours. According to the police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker, the drivers were robbed before the trucks were set ablaze.

Hours earlier, 3 trucks were burnt in Sekhukhune on the R547 Lydenburg road. Armed men forced the drivers out before torching the trucks. The incident came after 5 trucks had been set ablaze on N4 on Monday morning in Mpumalanga, and 6 other trucks on the N3 highway in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.

The events are happening on the 2^nd anniversary of similar attacks that started riots and vandalism in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng in July 2021. The riots caused more than 350 deaths and damage to businesses and property worth more than R50 billion.

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DUDUZILE ZUMA’S TWEET

Following the event, former President Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile caused a stir online by referring to July as ‘the month of flames’. “Konje it’s July. The month of flames”, she said. Duduzile was replying to a tweet on the news about several trucks being torched. Her response was met with mixed reactions from the public.

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POLICE MINISTER REFUTES CLAIMS

However, police minister Bheki Cele said that there is no link between the torching of trucks in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga and the anniversary of the 2021 July unrest. He termed the incidences as acts of criminality. 

Mr. Cele made it clear that they arrested suspects believed to be behind the incidents. “When it comes to trucks, I will have to check my figures, but last time we checked we had arrested 47 people around the trucking issues and all that. We send them to court so they got bail maybe sometimes the prosecution and Magistrate can tell us”, he said.

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PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA’S STATEMENT

President Cyril Ramaphosa also condemned the attacks on trucks. He said that he was concerned about the truck torching activities in the country and likened them to economic sabotage. The president made it clear that they will go after the people who were behind the trucks torching.

The trucks sector moves about 80% of goods in and around South Africa. This also includes cargo moving to and from countries that trade with international markets and use the country’s ports for their imports and exports.

Gavin Kelly who is the CEO of Road Freight Association said that the organization could not accept the scenes that played out on the N3 highway as anything else but a coordinated attack on the road freight sector. Police are currently investigating the events.

ALSO READ: Road Freight Association says attack on trucks was calculated