JMPD accused of driving past road spiking robbery on N1, Public Safety MMC demands action

City of Johannesburg Public Safety MMC Dr Mgcini Tshwaku has ordered the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) to investigate incidents where motorists were robbed after crashes due to road spiking or rocks placed in the road.

Motorists reported seeing rocks placed on the N1 North between the Soweto Highway and Maraisburg off-ramps and on the N1 South between Maraisburg and Rand Show Road off-ramps in Johannesburg.

As a result, there were reportedly multiple accidents overnight.

Accidents due to road spiking or rocks in road

Social media users circulated a video of a motorist who was allegedly robbed after crashing, in which the angry motorist described his ordeal and expressed frustration with the JMPD.

Watch: Motorist on N1 spiking incident (Warning: Content contains language)

WATCH: this angry motorist described his ordeal.

Reports say some motorists were robbed after they crashed their vehicles.

⚠️ Language@SAPoliceService @Jaca_Patrick @JoburgMPD @Tracker_SA @David_S_Tembe @PublicSafetyMMC https://t.co/QzLtrgRtT8 pic.twitter.com/ey5tK03LbM

Read more

Explosive truck fire shuts down N1 Highway near Kroonstad

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) December 29, 2024

In the video, the man explains that he noticed something was wrong when he saw his alleged robbers. He says he pretended to be pulling out a gun, but they called his bluff.

He said one of the suspects pulled out a gun, prompting him to flee for his life while the other suspect chased after him with an okapi knife.

ALSO READ: Map: Spiking hotspots in and around Pretoria

‘Useless’ JMPD

The man said he then urgently jumped onto the N1 going south and tried to flag down a JMPD officer but failed to get assistance.

“I ran [onto the road], and imagine N1 cars are driving at 120 or 140 km/h, and I tried to stop these bloody f*****g metro police guys, who are useless. They just passed,” he said.

He questioned how officers could fail to stop for someone being chased on the freeway by people armed with guns and knives.

ALSO READ: Motorists warned of new tyre spiking method

“I’m so disappointed in our law enforcement. I’m so f*****g disappointed. I was helped by an Uber driver. I’m sorry to say this, but he was a foreigner. He stopped and they ran,” the motorist said.

The man also vented his frustration with law enforcement, calling them “stupid” and “useless”.

JMPD internal affairs look into matter

In response to the video on X (formerly Twitter), MMC Tshwaku said JMPD internal affairs will be looking into the matter.

This was a serious violation of law enforcement code of conduct and I wish the complaint had a photo of the car passing by and a number plate to link officer in the car and charge him or her

This was unacceptable, but @JoburgMPD internal affairs is looking into it. https://t.co/XvtzySNxVD

— Cmsr Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, PhD (@MTshwaku) December 29, 2024

“This was a serious violation of law enforcement code of conduct, and I wish the complaint had a photo of the car passing by and a number plate to link the officer in the car and charge him or her,” he posted.

“This was unacceptable.”

ALSO READ: Motorists warned of new tyre spiking method

JMPD response

Meanwhile, the JMPD noted the rise in road spikes around the city, promising to work with the South African Police Service (Saps) to deal with the situation.

JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said spiking on the roads has become a serious problem in Gauteng, and in Johannesburg, it was particularly an issue on the M1 between Nasrec and Maraisburg.

“Officers are monitoring the area, but we know that any criminal activities that have been reported are reported to the Saps,” Fihla said in an interview with eNCA on Sunday.