Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
12 July 2023
Seventeen (17) trucks have been set on fire in the past few days across three different provinces, namely; Kwa Zulu-Natal (9), Mpumalanga (5), and Limpopo (3).
The first incident took place on Saturday, 08 July 2023 night, forcing the closure of Van Reenen’s Pass on the N3 in KZN when several individuals set six (6) trucks ablaze before fleeing the scene.
According to Lowvelder, five (5) trucks were set on fire on the N4 between the ZASM Tunnel at Waterval Boven (Emgwenya) and Waterval Onder in Mpumalanga, little over 24 hours later of the first incident and the road was closed for some hours.
According to the Polokwane Review, another attack happened in the early hours of Monday morning, 10 July 2023, whereby three (3) trucks were set ablaze on the R547 Sekhukhune/Lydenburg Road in Limpopo, prompting a manhunt for six suspects.
Recently, four (4) trucks were burnt on Wednesday, 12 July 2023 morning at around 05h30 on the N2 between Piet Retief and Ermelo.
Three were seriously burnt whilst one was burnt in the cabin.
One passenger who happened to be a woman sustained burnt wounds on her feet as she was allegedly asleep in one of the trucks and was taken for medical help by the EMS vehicle.
One of the trucks set alight on the N2 betwen Ermelo and Piet Retief
It is alleged that people emerged from the grasses, approached the trucks with firearms and instructed the drivers to get out otherwise they would burn them inside.
The drivers then left and ran away leaving the trucks set alight by the suspects.
The motive for the attacks is still unknown.
Investigation is currently underway, and suspects are still at large.
Trucks set alight on the N2 between Ermelo and Piet Retief in Mpumalanga
