A group of people were protesting on the N4 Highway in the early hours of the morning.
It was reported that motorist travelling on the highway were stoned at about 06:00 on Wednesday, August 27. A bus was burned on the highway as well.
It was not clear as to why the people were protesting. Last week some people were protesting in the same spot, it is believed that they were protesting about water and electricity and they were later addressed by city administrator Mr Theo van Vuuren. A truck was burned during the protest.
Ward 29 Councillor Timothy Lukhele said he was in the dark about the reason for the protest. He said in his ward all was well, nobody has come forward complaining and he thinks the protesting people were not from his area.
Trans African Concessions (TRAC) reported that: “The N4 Toll Route was closed this morning between the Mathews Phosa and Wakefield Intersections due to protest action in eMalahleni. TRAC was alerted of the situation by several motorists who contacted our 24-hour Helpdesk after their vehicles were allegedly stoned by protestors.
The protest action is not directed at TRAC nor does it relate to the N4 toll road. As concessionaires of the N4 Toll Route, TRAC has no law enforcement authority on this national highway, but on receiving the information we immediately alerted the relevant authorities and also dispatched our TRACAssist and Accident Response teams to the scene. As the safety of our road users is our primary concern, we closed off this section of the road for several hours and diverted traffic through the town.”
It was also reported by TRAC that it is the third time this month that the N4 Toll Route has been affected by service delivery protests for which the issues are completely unrelated to TRAC and the road owner, South African National Road Agency Ltd (SANRAL).
“Despite respecting the right to peaceful protests, as per the South African constitution, TRAC condemns the violent behaviour demonstrated by some of the protestors which resulted in damages to private and public property, including to the N4 itself,” added the statement.
Footage of the burned out bus
*Can’t see the video? Click here
