Sharp Rise in Municipal and Contractor Vehicle Hijackings Hinders Service Delivery, eThekwini Claims

Sharp Rise in Municipal and Contractor Vehicle Hijackings Hinders Service Delivery, eThekwini Claims

  • The eThekwini municipality said the spike in hijackings of municipal vehicles is impacting service delivery negatively
  • The municipality claimed that at least 95 vehicles had been hijacked in the current financial year
  • The eThekwini Metro Police arrested six men for possessing car parts that were allegedly from stolen municipality fleets

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DURBAN - The eThekwini municipality claims that the recent spike in the hijacking of municipal and contractor vehicles is negatively impacting service delivery.

The eThekwini Municipality claims that a spike in municipal vehicle hijackings have negatively impacted loadshedding
The rise in hijackings has negatively impacted service delivery in the eThekwini Municipality. Image: Stock photos and Darren Stewart
Source: Getty Images

Municipal vehicle hijacking spike in eThekwini

The municipality revealed that no less than 95 vehicles had been stolen in the current financial year, with the number rising daily.

A report from IOL indicated that more than 110 vehicles had been hijacked, according to the head of City Fleet, Malcolm Joshua.

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eThekwini said the numerous hijacking incidents have left municipal employees physically and psychologically scarred, TimesLIVE reported.

The areas that have recorded the most hijacking incidents include Mayville, Folweni, Umlazi, Kwamashu, Inanda, Zwelibomvu, Hammarsdale and KweNdengezi.

In light of the increased hijackings, the police have increased their efforts to bring carjackers to justice.

eThekwini police arrest 6 men for possessing parts stolen from municipal fleet

Six men were arrested after being found with car parts allegedly stolen from the eThekwini municipality's fleet.

The men were caught red-handed while stripping and loading the municipal vehicle parts for transport to another location. Metro police spokesperson Col Boysie Zungu confirmed the arrests.

eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda applauded the metro police for bringing the six men to justice and urged communities to work with law enforcement to bring hijackers to book.

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KZN man thwarted attempted carjacking while dropping off girlfriend, shoots and kills would-be hijacker

In another story, Briefly News reported that a KwaZulu-Natal man fatally shot a suspected hijacker to protect himself and his girlfriend from a carjacking.

The man was dropping off his girlfriend in Richmond Farm, Ntuzuma, at 2am on Wednesday, 21 June, when a gang of three armed men approached his vehicle and pointed a firearm at him.

The man did not hesitate to produce his own gun, firing multiple shots at the would-be hijackers, IOL reported.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Lerato Mutsila avatar

Lerato Mutsila (Current affairs editor) Lerato Mutsila is a journalist with 3 years of experience. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Pearson Institute of Higher Education in 2020, majoring in broadcast journalism, political science and communication. Lerato joined the Briefly News current affairs desk in August 2022. Mutsila is also a fellow of the 2021/2022 Young African Journalists Acceleration programme, which trained African journalists in climate journalism. You can contact Lerato at lerato.mutsila@breifly.co.za