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Photo: Twitter

Watch: Quick-thinking truck driver outsmarts Khayelitsha hijackers

Not today! These hijackers were left high and dry, after their attempts to steal a truck in Khayelitsha were thwarted by the driver’s swift escape act.

Hijacking khayelitsha 124

Photo: Twitter

The driver of this cigarette truck has been praised, after his sharp reactions got him out of a potentially life-threatening situation. Three hijackers tried to halt the van in Khayelitsha, only to be outsmarted by the man behind the wheel.

Khayelitsha hijackers leave empty-handed

The incident took place on Govan Mbeki Road, in Site B of the township near Cape Town. Security footage from Friday shows the heart-stopping incident unfolding just after 13:00. While driving into the bustling streets of Khayelitsha, a group of men appeared in the road. They then gave chase to the lorry, just as it came to a halt.

One of the men can be seen brandishing a gun, waving it in an attempt to intimidate the driver. However, this cool customer takes his truck full of smokes and reverses it all the way back to where he came from. After putting some distance between himself and the hijackers, he turns in the road – eventually escaping to freedom.

Watch: Cigarette truck driver dodges hijackers

Law and disorder in Khayelitsha

Khayelitsha has found itself in the news for all the wrong reasons recently: An eNCA film crew were mugged shortly after delivering a live broadcast earlier this month. Prior to that, extensive service delivery protests had spilled onto some major commuter routes leading into Cape Town. The situation remains volatile in this part of the Western Cape.

Thankfully, in this instance, the would-be victim was able to avoid a harrowing altercation, and escaped unharmed. Nearby Mitchell’s Plain was recently listed as a ‘hijacking hot-spot’ in South Africa – but the trend is also prevalent in Khayelitsha. As a province, the Western Cape has the third-highest carjacking rates, behind KZN and Gauteng.