Cape Town – A director of a coal transportation company, SG Coal, reportedly expressed shock upon learning that one of their employees, Nelson Shongwe, was allegedly involved in an arson attack on a truck owned by their subcontractor.
Shongwe was caught on dashcam video hijacking the truck and setting it on fire.
#TruckAttacks pic.twitter.com/7K5i8GveKp
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) July 12, 2023
He appeared in court alongside four other individuals connected to a series of recent truck torchings. The case has been postponed, and the accused face charges of conspiracy to commit malicious damage to property, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and attempted murder.
[WATCH] Here are the five men suspected of being behind the recent torching of trucks in Mpumalanga.
They are:
Nelson Shongwe
Sbusiso Mthethwa
Albert Mbondo
Albert Sibande
Nkosingiphile Gumede.TCG pic.twitter.com/TSqPmMXW01
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) July 17, 2023
According to Times Live, SG Coal director Peter Mountford said that Shongwe was identified and apprehended by the Anti-Crime Security Unit, a private company contracted by the subcontractor.
Mountford said that Shongwe was off duty at the time of the attack and expressed surprise, as the company did not employ foreign nationals.
“We are shocked. We don’t employ any foreign nationals …,” the report quoted Mountford as saying.
The subcontractor, whose identity was withheld said while driving on the N2 between Piet Retief and Ermelo, his driver encountered two burning trucks and assumed it was an accident. A person stopped him, pointed what appeared to be a firearm, and demanded that he exit the vehicle. The attacker, wearing a hoodie, then took control of the truck and set the cabin on fire. The driver fled and lost personal belongings in the process.
His truck and trailer were worth R3.2m, the report said.
The series of truck torchings in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and Gauteng was believed to be a coordinated effort.
Police Minister Bheki Cele announced that 12 people of interest had been identified, mostly located in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
