No arrests after alleged ‘ambush’ near Moz border
One witness described the incident as an "ambush" and added that the shots fired were not warning ones, but aimed to kill.
MBOMBELA – No arrests have been made after three South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers allegedly opened fired on a marked police vehicle and that of a tracking company last Wednesday evening.
According to SAPS provincial spokesman Col Leonard Hlati, detectives of Mbuzini SAPS are investigating the sensitive case of the SANDF soldiers who allegedly “ambushed” the two cars after a hijacking near the Mozambican border at around 22:30 on that day.
A vehicle was found a few hundred metres from the border by means of a tracking device after it had been reported stolen in the Tonga area that night. Cartrack, the managing company, located the abandoned car.
When they arrived at the vehicle, they saw the hijackers had abandoned it and had taken the keys. To ensure the suspects would not take the car upon their return, Cartrack removed the battery and returned to the victim’s home to retrieve the spare key. Cartrack notified Mbuzini SAPS of the recovery and invited them along. On their way back, they came across the soldiers next to the road and picked them up in the police vehicle.
the two occupants.
“We wanted to warn the soldiers patrolling the border that we would be returning to the scene, so that they would not open fire on us,” a source who was on the scene, told Lowvelder.
The party approached the hijacked vehicle, apparently with their emergency lights and sirens on. However, the recovery party was still fired upon and saw it was SANDF soldiers patrolling the fence who were shooting at them. The police vehicle’s engine was hit and it eventually seized.
One witness described the incident as an “ambush” and added that the shots fired were not warning ones, but aimed to kill.
Col Piet Paxton, SANDF spokesman, confirmed the incident and said the SANDF had requested a panel of inquiry. “As far as we know, five shots were fired, believed to be from one firearm. One soldier could not account for five bullets and it seemed as though five shots were fired at the convoy.
“The panel of inquiry will investigate the circumstances around the shooting, as well as which disciplinary steps will have to be followed.”
Paxton added that it was almost impossible for the major on duty to notify troops in the field of the police’s arrival. Cartrack’s CEO Mr Johnny Smit could not comment on the incident due to the police investigation.
