Gauteng cyclists ‘under siege’ – Hijacking hotspots revealed

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, to beef up police visibility and protect cyclists in Gauteng.

The party calls for increased road patrols along identified hotspot routes after the spike in incidents involving bike theft and physical assault.

Cyclists ‘under siege’

Increased violence incidents

The DA’s MEC for Community Safety, Michael Shackleton, said “there has been an increase in criminals are targeting cyclists, yet police are not doing enough to ensure their safety”.

Shackleton cites two incidents: In Elardus Park, Pretoria East, two cyclists “were knocked by a motor vehicle and then robbed of their bicycles”.

A similar fate fell upon a cyclist riding along Nelmapius Drive. Also in Nelpamius, a woman was hijacked and robbed of her phone and bicycle.

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Cycling hotspots

Shackleton said despite repeated notices, Mazibuko has yet to develop a safety plan; that said, the party will continue to “apply pressure on Mazibuko”.

He said the routes used by the cyclists and joggers “are mostly known and should be patrolled on a regular basis”. These routes include roads surrounding the following areas:

In the meantime, Shackleton said cyclists and joggers should go out in large groups to “ensure no one is isolated” while out and about.

“We will be tabling written questions to both Mazibuko and Mbali Hlophe to ascertain what safety measures are being put in place. We also want to ascertain how many cases have been opened by cyclists and joggers and of these cases, how many have resulted in arrests and convictions”.

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