Eastern Cape biker taken for a real ride at Mbombela
An Eastern Cape biker, Anda Gwele had his worst experience after his bike was stolen at the campsite.
MBOMBELA – The lack of police visibility and access control at the 3rd Sunriders MCC Rally left some with a bad taste of the colourful rally.
An Eastern Cape biker, Anda Gwele had his worst experience after his bike was stolen at the campsite. After biking all the way from Umtata to join the thousands of bikers who attended the rally, he parked his bike at the campsite and was surprised to find it gone the following morning, the day which would mark his first ride in Mbombela.
“It would be understandable if it was stolen in town, near a shop or something, not at the campsite. Even if I would have a good time, but this experience left me depressed. It was my first time to Mbombela, I had a painful experience and a bad memory of the day,” he said.
He learnt from a beer stall man who helped the robbers load the bike in the suspects’ bakkie as he thought it belonged to them. “Upon asking a barman near where I had parked my bike, I was told that it was loaded onto a White Ford Ranger double cab with Gauteng registration numbers by two guys, one light in complexion and the other one darker. The barman actually helped them to lift the bike onto their bakkie because he thought it belonged to them and they were probably too drunk to fail to lift it up,” added Gwele. This happened between 12 noon and 03:00 on Saturday morning.
Speaking to him on Saturday, Gwele told this journalist that besides the missing bike, he couldn’t miss the chance of riding the lovely plantations and scenery of the province, hence he got a lift from other bikers to and from the Barberton ride. He also got a lift from bikers to get back to the Eastern Cape.
Apart from the stolen bike, many others had their valuables stolen and one was stabbed during an attempted robbery near the entrance on Saturday. Two bikers were also involved in an accident next to the stadium when they collided with a Toyota Corolla. The driver of the Corolla fled the scene after the accident.
Sgt Gerald Sedibe referred all questions to Brig Leonard Hlathi. “That one belongs to the top management they are the ones who sit in plenary meetings,” said Sedibe.
Brig Leonard Hlathi was not available at the time of going to press.
Besides the few incidents mentioned above, many riders and spectators enjoyed the rally. A majority of riders from outside the province said they were impressed by the mountainous plateau of curves of riding on roads of the province.
