Fake cops spread fear on N3 Highway as hijackings increase

The aftermath of hijackings along the N3 highway has left survivors grappling with profound trauma as they struggle to come to terms with their harrowing experiences at the hands of criminals.

Despite a heightened police presence and efforts to combat criminal activity, the emotional scars inflicted on those targeted in these brazen attacks serve as a stark reminder of the pervasive impact of violent crime.

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In the past three years, the N3 has seen a marked increase in hijackings along the highway in the Heidelberg area, which has become a hotspot for criminals.

That stretch of highway was also where Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga and her entourage were hijacked and robbed last November.

Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said there were daily patrols and the “flying squad, together with highway patrol units, are deployed statically and patrol the on- and off-ramps of highways”.

‘Difficult to contain the situation’

However, a senior researcher and policing expert at the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Johan Burger, said the South African Police Service (Saps) was finding it increasingly difficult to contain the situation.

He said there were systemic challenges within the criminal justice system, particularly the overwhelmed and underresourced police force.

“The inadequacy of police numbers and resources to keep pace with population growth, leads to gaps in law enforcement coverage that criminal elements exploit,” he said.

Failure to effectively address crime hot spots and deploy intelligence-driven operations allowed criminal groups to thrive. “And … it creates enormous space which is exploited by all kinds of criminals.”

Burger said the shortage of vehicles and other equipment, was also a major challenge.

“If you look at the numbers, we are not yet even, as far as police numbers are concerned, at the level we were 10 years ago.

“The expansion of the police in terms of its number and resources doesn’t keep pace with the growth in population figures.”

Meanwhile, survivors recount feelings of fear, helplessness and vulnerability as they confront the lasting effects of their ordeal.

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The trauma of being confronted by armed assailants, threatened with violence and forcibly robbed of their belongings leaves an indelible mark on victims, often leading to ongoing psychological distress and anxiety.

“I never imagined I would find myself in such a terrifying situation,” said one survivor, Thabang Molapo, who narrowly escaped a hijacking attempt on the N3.

Molapo initially shared snippets of his encounter on social media platform X and noted “the memory of those moments still haunts me and I constantly find myself looking over my shoulder, fearing it could happen again”.

“The worst thing was when they took me to a corner house, it’s painted red on the inside, in Vosloorus, they held me and my girlfriend there for more than six hours while others went around withdrawing money,” he recalled.

Forced off the road

Last Saturday, a Johannesburg doctor also faced a harrowing experience when hijackers masquerading as police officials forced him off the N3 highway near Vosloorus and robbed him of his vehicle and valuables.

Describing the ordeal, police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said the doctor, who had been travelling from Newcastle to Johannesburg, was intercepted by a group of five men driving a double-cab bakkie equipped with blue lights suggestive of law enforcement authority.

The perpetrators, three of whom wore police uniforms, coerced the doctor into a maize field where they robbed him of his Mercedes-Benz, jewellery, medical paraphernalia and an undisclosed sum of money.

Intensifying concerns even further were recent cases involving prominent business people who were forcibly abducted and later discovered in the Vosloorus/ Rondebult area.

These incidents serve as a chilling reminder of the brazen ruthlessness of criminal syndicates operating along the N3 corridor.