KwaZulu-Natal authorities and law enforcement agencies were on high alert on Tuesday — the second anniversary of the July 2021 unrest — after more than 16 trucks were torched in KZN, Mpumalanga and Limpopo in the past few days.

Eight trucks were set alight in KZN — six on the Van Reenen’s Pass section of the N3 and two on the N2 near Empangeni on the KZN north coast. Three trucks were burnt in Limpopo in Sekhukhune district and five were torched in Mpumalanga.

Two trucks were burnt to ashes on the N2 between Empangeni and Nseleni in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday morning on their way to Richards Bay. (Photo: Mandla Langa)

The incidents are a huge embarrassment for the government, which is hosting the 41st annual Southern African Transport Conference (SATC 2023), which is under way in Pretoria and was opened by Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga.

After the gradual deterioration of South Africa’s rail system, it is estimated that between 80% and 90% of import and export goods are transported by trucks on the country’s highways and any disruption puts further strain on the economy. Hence, government leaders, including Chikunga, referred to the latest torchings as “economic sabotage and acts of criminality”.

The incidents have further weakened the trust of stakeholders in the government and its law enforcement agencies to deal with the escalating problems of lawlessness and instability on South Africa’s roads. Sporadic attacks by gunmen on truckers have now been occurring for five years. 

During the July 2021 riots, the major turning point came with the torching of about 25 trucks and trailers, including one car carrier on which new BMW cars were gutted by fire. Tow truckers spent more than two days removing the burnt “carcasses”.

After these incidents, the riots spread throughout the province and into Gauteng, resulting in the deaths of more than 350 people and wholesale destruction of property. The economy suffered more than R50-billion in damages from a few days of mayhem.

The riots started as a protest against the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma.

There has been speculation that the latest torching of trucks was a deliberate effort to coincide with the regional transport conference to embarrass the government and highlight the xenophobic complaints by SA drivers against the hiring of foreign nationals.

Nevertheless, the culprits seemed to have the support of some of the leading figures involved in the run-up to the July 2021 riots. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla was among those who tweeted in support of those torching the trucks, saying they keep the spirit that led to the July riots alive. “Konje [By the way] it’s July. The month of flames,” she tweeted.

The All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF), a group of South African truck drivers advocating for the employment of local instead of foreign drivers, has been blamed in the past for the mayhem in the trucking industry.

ATDF spokesperson Gugu Sokhela denied that his organisation was behind the latest torchings, but said he could not confirm or deny whether some of its members had been involved in the incidents.

‘Too much anger’

“We cannot confirm yet whether it is our members. But I know that there is too much anger over the hiring of foreign drivers. Some of our members are angry, many other truck drivers are also angry about the current state of affairs,” he said.

Kwanele Ncalane, the spokesperson for the KZN Department of Transport, said the KZN government had set up a task team to investigate the attacks on trucks in the province.

“This [is] economic sabotage, because there is no one in the industry who can claim that government has not opened doors for engagement. Therefore, if there were legitimate concerns, those would be subjected to discussions and negotiations.

“We view this as pure acts of criminality, hence it needs to be dealt with henceforth. And we are encouraged that police have established a dedicated team to investigate the syndicates that are involved.”

KZN police spokesperson Jay Naicker said the task team would hunt down the arsonists and would work with other agencies throughout the country.

Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly said it had been clear over the past five years that the torching of trucks was a coordinated effort carried out by people who knew what they were doing.

Kelly said the police and government had not heeded the association’s call to have contingency plans for highways where the torching of trucks was rife. He said the freight industry had lost confidence in the SAPS and other law enforcement agencies.

“This is very worrying [for everyone in the trucking industry]. It is clear that these are not random attacks. There is a lot of planning involved,” he said.

Kelly said it appeared that the planners of the attacks carefully chose “soft spots” — long stretches of roads with little or no policing where trucks travelled slowly — so they could cause maximum damage and quickly disappear. He said this modus operandi had been in operation for the past five years and police had failed to make any meaningful arrests.

The Democratic Alliance says well-organised mafias and cartels are responsible for the attacks on trucks and that the government must institute charges of terrorism and economic sabotage.

The DA will open a case in terms of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (Pocdatara Act) and demand that the police conduct a full and proper investigation into the attacks. The party believes that “charging these economic terrorists in terms of the Pocdatara Act will send a strong message to any criminal intending to commit acts of sabotage such as these.

“The DA unreservedly condemns these strategically calculated attacks on our road freight sector the last few days. These attacks threaten our national stability and strike at the heart of our economy.

“These are not isolated incidents. The sheer precision and efficiency indicate a disturbing level of coordination that has managed to outmanoeuvre the SAPS. It is a failing of our law enforcement’s intelligence arm, one that echoes the incompetence demonstrated during the July 2021 unrest that exacted a devastating human and economic toll,” the DA said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Minister of Police Bheki Cele and the SAPS top brass will deliver a briefing on Wednesday, 12 July “on the police’s response to acts of violence targeting freight trucks in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces”. DM