The FF Plus has requested the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, and the Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lt.-Gen. Elias Mawela, to take urgent action to curb the current wave of crime sweeping across the highways in Gauteng.
Incidents in which petrol bombs are hurled at motorists and sharp objects are placed in the road to force vehicles to stop are a regular occurrence in Gauteng and are on the rise.
Ensuring the safety of motorists is essential and only drastic action by the police force will put an end to the criminality.
The N4 and R104 between Pretoria East and Bronkhorstspruit are especially targeted by modern-day bush robbers who place sharp objects in the road to force motorists to stop so they can rob them.
In the latest incident, last week Thursday and Friday, a group of protesters hid in the grass next to the R59 highway just outside Alberton and pelted passing trucks and cars with petrol bombs and stones.
Two trucks were hit, which resulted in a collision with two cars. Various other cars were also hit by the petrol bombs. Furthermore, protesters blocked the road with burning tyres, branches of trees and chunks of concrete.
Frequently, the motorists moving with the long rows of vehicles on highways are oblivious to the dangers ahead and, therefore, the police and traffic officers must block off the affected routes in time.
Regular patrols to tackle suspicions activities and remove sharp objects from roads must be done.
In its official letter, the FF Plus demanded that the MEC and Police Commissioner must see to it that the police force is reinforced and equipped with the necessary equipment to effectively combat the criminality on Gauteng’s highways.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Kobus Hoffman on FF Plus
