Driver tells his part of the Boskombuis story

BARBERTON – The 25-year-old motorist at the centre of last week’s drama at the Jock of the Bushveld Boskombuis has come forward with his version of events. Lowvelder reported on Tuesday how two armed men, purportedly attached to a special policing unit, entered the establishment last Wednesday, accusing staff of filming them after they witnessed a scene involving him and the duo.

The driver wished to remain anonymous. He had been on his way to an appointment in Barberton. “Behind me was a gold Subaru Forester which bore down on me, intending to overtake. There were three cars ahead of me and a truck in front of the three vehicles, so there was no way that he could pass.

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“He drove close to my car and I signalled to him to wait because of the other vehicles,” he said.

Once they could pass the truck, they sped past. He received a call through the Bluetooth kit in his car but had to pick up the phone to see who was calling. He glanced at the Subaru, wondering who was driving so recklessly.

“What I surmise is that they saw my phone and I was looking at the vehicle as I passed them. After this, I put the phone down and heard sirens.”

There were no blue lights or police vehicles, so he continued driving. Meanwhile, the Subaru drove alongside his car with their windows open.

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One of the occupants shouted, “******* pull over! ******* pull over now!”

“I told them that I would not be pulling over and asked that they follow me to the Enver Wessels police station instead. They drove closer to me and tried running me off the road.”

He decided to stop at Boskombuis. The men stopped too and exited their car, with R5s at the ready. Expecting the worst, he threw his cell phone under the seat. They demanded that he hand over the “video” and accused him of interfering with their tracking of a suspect.

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He explained that he was answering a work related call. “At this point, one of them turned and saw what looked like a flash from Boskombuis.”

It drew their attention. He left and headed to his appointment. On his return, the area was a hive of activity with police vehicles and bakkies outside.

“The people were pointing fingers at each other and I stopped, but I was unsure of what was happening. I saw the two point at my car and I was afraid because they were with the police and I did not want to get involved, so I drove off,” he said.

National police spokesman, Brig Vish Naidoo, said the police members observed a vehicle suspiciously following a cash-intransit vehicle. “Given the spate of attacks on CIT vehicles, the members acted by trying to get the driver to pull over. At the time, our members, as law enforcers and with a Constitutional mandate and obligation to combat crime, acted on the suspicion.

“No excessive force was used, no shots were fired and no injuries have been reported. We suggest that any persons who feels that his or her rights may have been infringed are welcome to open a criminal case for investigation.”

The Barberton station commander, Col Johan Engelbrecht, confirmed that a case has been lodged at the police station.