UPDATE: Sanco, KZN MEC condemn reckless driving and KZN mob justice incident

The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), as well as KwaZulu-Natal transport, community safety, and liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda have condemned the reckless driving and mob justice incident in Pietermaritzburg.

Six pedestrians died and a bakkie driver was stabbed to death on Friday night.

“The driver allegedly lost control of his bakkie in Boston Bulwer Road at around [7.20pm on Friday] night, resulting to the death of five pedestrians. Immediately after the accident community members attacked the bakkie driver and stabbed him to death. The police are currently investigating five counts of culpable homicide and one case of murder,” Kaunda said.

“We urge communities to report crime to authorities in the criminal justice system instead of taking the law into their own hands,” Sanco national spokesman Jabu Mahlangu said on Saturday.

On Friday night, six pedestrians were killed and seven others were injured when a bakkie smashed into them on Edendale Road in Kwashange in Pietermaritzburg.

ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak said that shortly after 8pm, paramedics from ER24, EMRS, and other services attended the scene where they found a bakkie that had crashed into the pedestrians.

“The driver of the bakkie was found with fatal injuries. It is understood from bystanders that members of the community allegedly stabbed the driver to death shortly after the incident. Five pedestrians were found with fatal injuries. There was nothing that paramedics could do for them and they were declared dead on the scene.”

Another pedestrian was in a critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries on the scene. Seven other people were treated on the scene for injuries ranging from moderate to serious before being transported to a nearby hospital for further medical care.

The cause of the accident was not yet known, Vermaak said.

On Saturday, Mahlangu said barbaric, horrendous acts that undermined the rule of law would only lead to lawlessness and a vicious cycle of violence. He appealed to motorists to drive with extreme caution to reduce the carnage on public roads. “Road safety is the responsibility of all road users,’’ he said.

Kaunda said he had directed all agencies to speed up the investigation into the cause of the deadly accident. The Pietermaritzburg crash came a few hours after Kaunda’s visit to the scene of another crash which claimed the lives of 14 people on the R33 in Msinga. He urged law enforcement to be tougher on errant road users.

“The circumstances surrounding the fatal crash on Boston Bulwer Road outside Pietermaritzburg are very disturbing. The fact that pedestrians were knocked down by someone who is allegedly drunk leaves devastating pain.

“While we encourage members of the public to work with the police to report errant drivers, we equally condemn the stabbing and killing of the bakkie driver in a mob attack. Irresponsible drivers must be handed over to law enforcement agencies.

“We strongly condemn the unnecessary loss of innocent lives on our roads and we send our heartfelt condolences to all the affected families who have lost their relatives during this Easter period.

“Approaching this Easter holidays, we had a clear integrated plan by all law enforcement agencies. Traffic police will continue working hard through the long weekend. Equally, we call on all road users to take responsibility and adhere to the road signs and traffic rules.

“The recent spate of accidents in the province is unacceptable. All stakeholders, including the religious fraternity, must come together and work to change the mind-set of all road users,” said Kaunda.

– African News Agency (ANA) 

For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.