“This One Takes the Cake”: Cape Town Pharas Filmed Carrying a Traffic Light, SA Astonished

• A video captured a group of people hauling a bright yellow traffic light away from a BP petrol station in Wynberg, Cape Town
• The footage, shared by Make SA Safe, was filmed at night from inside a vehicle and showed the suspects moving the heavy item along the pavement
• Viewers online were stunned by the brazen theft, with many pointing fingers at scrapyards that buy stolen infrastructure

A group of people were caught on camera carrying a stolen traffic light through the streets of Wynberg, Cape Town, in a video that quickly went viral on social media. The footage, posted on 25 September 2026 by the Make SA Safe Facebook page, was filmed at night from inside a parked vehicle.

It shows three men lugging a long, bright yellow traffic light away from the forecourt of a local BP petrol station. One person trailed behind, helping to balance the heavy item as they carried it along the pavement past the station. The caption on the video read: "Wynberg, Cape Town: robot stolen. Suspects were arrested a short while later."

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Stolen infrastructure in plain sight

What made the clip so striking was its sheer boldness. The theft happened under the glow of a busy service station, in a public space, late at night, yet the group carried on as though it were completely ordinary.

For many South Africans watching, the scene was all too familiar. The country has seen a sharp rise in the theft of public infrastructure, including traffic lights, manhole covers, and copper cables, much of it driven by demand from scrapyards willing to buy the materials without asking questions.

Watch the Facebook video that shocked Mzansi below:

Mzansi reacts to pharas carrying a stolen traffic light

Viewers were not shy about sharing their frustration in the comments.

@Connie Collins wrote:

"The scrapyards are to blame."

@Vaughn Makkink said:

"Only in RSA."

@Greg Thomson added:

"This one takes the cake, icing and cherry 🍒 on top. Just unbelievable!"

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@Sibangani Ncube said:

"Walking right past a garage with so many camera systems in place without much of a care."

@Rosa Lötter shared:

"They do it because they know the scrapyard owners buy it from them, no questions asked."

@Jodeen KaiyoLyric Louw wrote:

"Oh hell, now I've seen it all, bro. SA takes the cake."

3 more articles about pharas

• A viral video of a street dweller giving a blunt, unfiltered news interview about Julius Malema ahead of his sentencing sparked a lively debate online, with many South Africans agreeing that no one is above the law.
• An Eastern Cape woman's encounter with a group of pharas dressed in full academic gowns claiming to be University of Fort Hare law graduates amused South Africans online.
• Briefly News reported that Bonga, a street dweller, challenged Alostro, a substance abuser, to a boxing match, saying he would represent his city, Johannesburg, and Alostro would represent Pretoria.

Source: Briefly News