Tow truck drivers, bikers protest for more police on highway

Tow truck drivers and bikers embarked on a protest yesterday on the R80 Mabopane highway to demand increased police presence on the road.

This was in light of the horrific incidents tow truck drivers and motorists stuck on the side of the road have experienced recently. The Citizen to spoke to Kabelo Sebulele, an employee at Kopoloso Towing Recovery in Soshanguve, who said their complaints about the danger a tow truck driver faced when travelling on the highway were falling on deaf ears.

He said tow truck drivers were on the highway 24/7 and it seemed they were considered easy targets.

“We are protesting for our brothers and our sisters who have been killed and raped on this highway. Our drivers are attacked and robbed when taking a bathroom break. We want justice for what has happened to those on this highway and for the police to safeguard our workers when travelling, or assisting a motorist on the highway,” Sebulele said.

There have been numerous reports of motorists being attacked when forced to stop along the R80. About a week ago, reports said a couple was attacked on the highway. The woman was raped and killed while the man was tied up.

Law enforcement pleaded with motorists and those from the surrounding areas to be alert and avoid falling victims to crimes such as hijacking, murder, robbery and rape as they tried their level best to combat crime. The district commissioner of the South African Police Service in Tshwane, Major-General Hilda Mohajane, assured protesters about the urgency to heighten visibility and intensify crime prevention operations in the area.

She said: “The area is policed by Akasia and Hercules police stations and it is only recently that a number of victims have come forward to report incidents of crime which are currently under investigation. I am pleased to say we have already arrested two suspects in connection with incidents.

“Drivers should by all means refrain from stopping unnecessarily. “If all of us are involved in this fight, we will win. United we stand, but divided we fall.”

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