Two Golden Arrow busses, a City truck and two light delivery vehicles belonging to Eskom and the City were attacked by petrol bombs on Friday
Service delivery vehicles have been withdrawn from Nyanga in Cape Town after five vehicles, including two Golden Arrow buses, a city council truck and two light delivery vehicles belonging to Eskom and the City, were attacked using petrol bombs on Friday morning.
Cape Town mayoral committee member for community safety JP Smith condemned the attacks in Nyanga and confirmed that “all service delivery vehicles have been instructed to withdraw from the area immediately”.
“Our staff are working closely with the South African Police Service to track down the persons responsible for these heinous acts,” Smith said.
Swift action from local authorities led to the tracking down of the vehicle transporting the suspects in the attacks. Although they managed to flee the scene, law enforcement officers retrieved the vehicle, a grey Avanza, and its number plate.
The exact motive behind the attacks is not yet known, but Smith says they could be linked to a search operation on Thursday for a taxi driver and owner who escaped from custody at the Philippi East police station a week ago.
Golden Arrow Bus Services spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer told Mail & Guardian one of the company’s buses had been “completely gutted” while another sustained extensive damage after being petrol bombed on the corner of Symphony Way and Govern Mbeki Road and at the Nyanga terminus. Golden Arrow said it was suspending services in Nyanga on Friday.
No injuries were reported in the attack on the Golden Arrow buses, but City of Cape Town’s traffic services spokesperson Richard Coleman said the 38-year-old driver of one of the light delivery vehicles sustained injuries.
Smith said the city council would ramp up deployments in the area to assist the police in catching the perpetrators and also to mitigate the risk of further attacks.
Members of the public with any information about these attacks can call the city’s public emergency communication centre on 021 480 7700 from a cellphone, 107 from a landline or call the South African Police Service on 10111.