Putco Investigating After 50 Buses Burnt in Arson Attack, SA Weighs In

• Putco is investigating a possible case of arson after 50 buses were set alight in Mpumalanga
• Two employees were injured in the violence from four depots, and the reason for the attack was unknown
• South Africans suspected that the torching of the buses was an act of sabotage and some accused the taxi industry

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather and natural disaster-related incidents at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for seven years.

MPUMALANGA — An unknown amount of assailants torched 50 Putco buses in four depots in Mpumalanga on the evening of 27 January 2025. South Africans suspected that sabotage was behind the motive.

50 Putco buses torched in Mpumalanga

Two employees were injured during an attack in which armed men dressed in black stormed the depots in Moloto, Siyabuswa, Vaalbank and Wolvekraal. Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said that 50 buses were torched. The employees were ambushed and tied at one of the depots. They fired a few shots and petrol-bombed the buses. One of the employees was shot in the foot and the other was hit with a chair.

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What is Putco doing about it?

Putco said it is working closely with law enforcement to investigate the motive behind the attack. Xulu said Putco would not speculate, but one of the prevalent challenges in the area is that taxi associations occasionally stop buses in the province.

Associations allegedly wanted Putco to stop operating at certain times. However, Putco will continue operating, and the South African Police Service will assist in patrolling high-risk areas.

Similar incidents of torched public transport

• Angry members of a KwaZulu-Natal community torched a bus and a truck during a protest against crime in January 2023
• Golden Arrow obtained an interdict against the SA National Taxi Council to stop violent attacks against its buses after a few buses were torched
• Taxis in the North West were allegedly set alight in November 2024

South Africans share theories

Netizens commenting on Facebook believed that the buses may have been torched by taxi associations vying for control of the routes.

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TW Medin Kibebo said:

"This evil action may be from local taxi associations."

Melusi said:

"This reminds me of when lockdown was removed. Trains were sabotaged, buses were robbed, etc., but only one transport mode was thriving."

Patrick Taele said:

"I suspect this has to do with taxi owners."

Donovan Brown said:

"Taxi association. They destroyed trains and now bus services. But the government knows this because many of them are involved."

Oliver El-Che Moguru said:

"The motive is not clear and the culprits are some taxi associations."

UKZN building sections burned during protest

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a building section of the University of KwaZulu-Natal was set alight during a protest. The university condemned the incident.

The students protested that the university cut the bus service, and they clashed with the security during the protest. The chemistry building was set alight during the chaos.

Source: Briefly News