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JEREMY MAGGS: Well, let’s pick up on that story; police have increased their visibility on major highways following the torching of those trucks in Mpumalanga, in Limpopo, in the Free State, here in Gauteng and also in KwaZulu-Natal. They have already identified 12 people possibly linked to the attacks. At this point, no arrests yet.
Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, says police have adopted a zero-tolerance approach. Let’s hear now from Lirandzu Themba, who speaks for the minister. So Lirandzu, what is your intelligence telling you about the motive and if, in fact, these attacks were coordinated?
LIRANDZU THEMBA: Jeremy, what we know from the intelligence community is that the attacks on trucks may be business related. We know that they’re definitely not random acts of criminality.
The evidence that we have before us points to the fact that these attacks are well organised, they’re coordinated by individuals, and they are also highly sophisticated.
Hence, we are seeing them happening so far in three provinces, which is KwaZulu-Natal, in Mpumalanga, as well as Limpopo province.
JEREMY MAGGS: What immediate steps now are being taken to safeguard the national supply line?
LIRANDZU THEMBA: I think it’s a very huge relief at the moment that we have not had a single truck torched since yesterday when we saw the torching of a truck in the Mpumalanga, but we haven’t had the most recent one. So this also suggests that the interventions that have been put in place by the SAPS [South African Police Service] are working, and those interventions include high visibility at identified routes.
Read: Attacks on trucks spread in SA as police plan response
We know that the trucks that have been targeted were targeted on some of our highways. So the N3, the N12, the N11, as well as the N9 have also been some of the routes that have been densely populated by police. But we are not taking anything to chance, Jeremy. What is also happening is that the police are also going to be high on alert in other provinces that have not been affected by the attacks on the trucks.
JEREMY MAGGS: You talk about a zero-tolerance approach. What exactly does that mean?
LIRANDZU THEMBA: We cannot have a situation, Jeremy, where individuals or gangs are hell-bent on causing havoc on our roads for whatever motive, whether it’s economic sabotage, whether it’s a labour dispute, or whether it’s whatever business interest that has gone sour.
That is the very reason why the Minister of Police yesterday told the nation that while there are fears that this could be a repetition of what transpired in July 2021 when we saw the unrest, this is definitely not what we are seeing.
This is a completely different animal.
We know that it is coordinated, yes, and we know who they are, the people who are behind these attacks on our trucks. In fact, 12 people of interest have been identified, and we know as a police ministry, and we’ve been appraised by the intelligence community in the top brass of the SAPS, that arrests are going to be made very soon.
JEREMY MAGGS: There are some suggestions, particularly within the trucking community, that your intelligence wasn’t good enough, that you were caught napping.
LIRANDZU THEMBA: That, of course, is something that is expected from the recent history that we came from, where unfortunately, the intelligence community was caught napping when it came to the unrest in 2021. However, this is not the case. Lessons have been learnt from the past.
The fact that there was intelligence that was given to the SAPS. However, this intelligence did not necessarily have specifics as to where and how. But we know the national police commissioner did avail yesterday that there was intelligence that was given to the SAPS, but it was not specific. That is the reason why we are now sitting at 21 trucks that have been burnt.
Read/Listen: Trucking industry on edge, attackers unknown
In fact, we understand that this figure could have been far higher if there wasn’t that sort of intelligence that was on the ground. The intelligence structures are more coordinated. They are working with agility, and that’s essentially the assurance that we have from the intelligence community and working together closely with the SSA [State Security Agency] to basically not only bring to book the people, individuals, or gangs that are behind these arson attacks, but also to put a stop to it once and for all.
JEREMY MAGGS: I’m assuming that you are working closely with the various trucking bodies.
LIRANDZU THEMBA: So meetings are being had, yes, because one of the questions that you raised earlier on was what seems to be the motive. We know that labour disputes, especially in the Mpumalanga province, seem to be pointing towards a labour dispute. We also know that there’s a history in this country where certain trucking organisations, there’s been friction around labour, the employment of South Africans and non-South Africans. So that is definitely something that is being looked into.
Also, Jeremy, we also have to mention that there is an IMC, an inter-ministerial committee, that comprises of the minister of police, the minister of labour, the minister of transport, amongst others, who are closely looking at some of the problems plaguing the transport or the trucking sector.
Read: Impact of the attacks on trucks on Van Reenen’s Pass
So we believe that it is a combination of active policing that is going to put a stop to this. But also looking at some of the underlying problems that the trucking industry is facing. We believe a combination of all of these is going to really help us do some damage in terms of tackling these attacks that we’re seeing on our roads.
JEREMY MAGGS: Lirandzu Themba, thank you very much. This is what the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, had to say last night.
BHEKI CELE: As things stand, there is no evidence before us to suggest that the recent target on trucks is in any way related or linked to the July insurrection. I wish to take this opportunity to allay any fears that what transpired in July 2021 will repeat itself.
