- A video emerged showing a truck driver being forced out of his car by a vandal.
- The accident occurred in Mpumalanga on Wednesday morning.
- The video shows the arsonist driving the car for a short distance before igniting it.
Footage has emerged of a truck being set on fire after a truck driver was thrown out of his car by a vandal Mpumalanga on Wednesday morning.
The video shows the driver responding to the man who orders him to open the door and get out of the car.
The arsonist asks the driver in IsiZulu if he refuses to get out of the car, to which the driver replies, “No, I don’t.”
The driver gets out and inserts the igniter with a plastic bag.
He appears to drive the car a short distance before igniting it.
Then the vandal jumps out of the truck.
The timestamp on the snapshots is July 12, 2023 at 05:42, around the same time Four trucks were set on fire in Mpumalanga Wednesday morning.
Police spokesman Brigadier Sylvie Mohlala said the incidents took place in Shipmore on the N2 motorway between Pete Retief and Ermelo.
He added that three trucks were badly damaged.
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The attackers emerged from the nearby bush and ordered the drivers out of the vehicles before setting them on fire.
Mohlala said a female passenger who was sleeping in one of the trucks suffered burns and was taken to hospital.
The Mpumalanga community safety organisation, MEC Vusi Chongwe, said the truck burnings in the county amounted to economic sabotage.
This affected livelihoods and the economy, he added, adding that nine trucks were attacked in the province on Sunday and Wednesday.
On Sunday, five trucks were set on fire by unidentified gunmen on the N4 Toll Road near Machadodorp.
Chonggui could not confirm whether the two incidents were related, saying only that law enforcement authorities were keeping a close eye on the hotspots in hopes of catching the perpetrators.
He said:
We believe that with a more concerted effort in dealing with this situation, the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
“It is worrying that the trucks seem to be constantly targeted by some members of the community, especially when protesting.
“They often blocked the roads with trucks, endangering the lives of many truck drivers,” he said.
No arrests have been made.