Metal Gate Stolen in Broad Daylight at Tshwane Showgrounds Shocks Mzansi

• A woman filmed the aftermath of a metal gate theft at the Pretoria Showgrounds on 28 October 2026
• She and other passengers spotted the men dismantling the gate and turned back, but arrived too late to stop them
• South Africans online blamed scrapyards and poor municipal oversight for the rising theft of public infrastructure

A metal gate was ripped from its fittings and stolen in broad daylight at the Pretoria Showgrounds in Tshwane on 28 October 2026, with the entire incident captured on a mobile phone and shared to TikTok by @newsnexussa.

The woman filming was travelling in a vehicle with other passengers when they noticed men in the process of tearing down the gate. They turned around to intervene, but by the time they reached the spot, the thieves had already fled. At the scene, she encountered two other men who confirmed that two suspects had jumped out of a vehicle.

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Pretoria showgrounds left unprotected

The footage showed the dismantled gate structure lying flat on a dirt path, with a caption on screen reading: "A metal gate being stolen in broad daylight in Tshwane. 28 Oct 2026."

The woman remained with the vehicles while the men at the scene went inside the property to check whether anything else had been taken and whether anyone on the premises was unharmed. She expressed shock that such an incident could happen so openly, and directed some of her frustration at the ANC, saying poor governance had allowed conditions in the area to deteriorate to this point.

Watch the footage that left Mzansi outraged below:

Mzansi Reacts to the Tshwane Gate Theft

South Africans flooded the comments section on @newsnexussa's post with their frustrations:

@BelleFundo said:

"Scrapyards are also the biggest problem."

@Carol💜Mama Kea💙 Golo🩷 wrote:

"Scrapyards are the biggest problem in our communities ka nnete [honestly]. I don't know why they don't close them down."

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@Nyabese Dimo Motubatse commented:

"Metro office is the next building from there — they don't see anything?"

@isani denis Nedzamba added:

"I blame the government for just abandoning the property unguarded."

🌟 said:

"The army is busy where it's not needed."

@GANG wrote:

"To solve this problem, scrapyards must be closed."

@Prince shared:

"Why blame ANC when the vandalising is done by some among us? I think it's a mentality issue, cause ANC don't go around vandalising — it's us as citizens who vandalise. Even walkways- they take the pavement bricks."

More on crime in South Africa

• Briefly News recently reported on four men being arrested with an AK-47 and two handguns after anti-illegal immigration marches in KwaZulu-Natal.
• BiancaSays3 called out misinformation spreading online after the Donovan Marx farm attack.
• A group of young tourists were left crashing out after a car break-in in Cape Town cost them clothing, IDs and bank cards.

Source: Briefly News