Rock throwing – Bridges to be enclosed?

Provincial government and the Durban Metro have vowed to protect motorists following the deaths of two people from a rock thrown from the overhead bridge south of Ballito.

Following a spate of rock-throwing incidents in Kwa Zulu Natal – KZN MEC for transport and Community Safety Mxolisi Kaunda has called a high-level meeting to come up with a detailed strategy to curb the problem, while eThekweni deputy mayor Fawzia Peer has proposed that safety barriers over bridges and CCTV cameras be installed at bridges in hot spot areas.

“We are investigating the possibility of installing safety barriers in the form of steel cages to prevent objects being thrown from overhead bridges,” Peer said.

“This cannot be done overnight as normal council processes will have to take place and this will also depend on funding.”

Peer said they were very concerned about the increase in rock throwing attacks and reassured the community that they were acting swiftly to find a solution.

UPDATE: Rock throwing – Minors taken for questioning

Meanwhile, Transport and Community Saftey media liaison Kwanele Ncalane said the MEC planned to meet with role players this Tuesday.

“The department maintains that these acts are unwarranted and remain a major cause for concern. The MEC will be meeting with the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), SAPS, KwaDukuza and eThekweni traffic police and other important role players where he will be briefed on the situation and will, in turn, announce a strategy to deal with the issue. This is going to reach the highest level of government to solve the problem and we also want to dig deeper into the manner the perpetrators are carrying out these crimes and what they seem to achieve,” he said.

SANRAL originally said erecting barriers across bridges would not be possible due to the cost.

DA member of parliament Dean Macpherson, who has spearheaded the calls for action after the latest incidents, told the Courier that government had been warned for years about this but were only doing something about it now because of media pressure.

“Up ’til now they have shown no sympathy or concern,” said Macpherson.

“The bottom line is: anything less than enclosing the bridges is just not going to work.”

Just three weeks after Vereeniging holidaymakers 16-year-old Amina Haffejee and her 7-year-old brother Abdur Raheem lost their lives after a rock was thrown from a bridge on the N2 between Ballito and Tongaat, a second victim escaped with minor injuries after being targeted last weekend.

Macpherson said he had been in contact with the Haffajee family since the deaths of the siblings, saying they were horrified that another attack had taken place the very next week on the same stretch of highway.

Although initial reports indicated the rock was thrown from the same bridge where the young siblings were killed, Umhlali SAPS spokesperson Vinny Pillay said the recent incident was at the overhead bridge closest to the north side of the Tongaat Toll.

“A piece of concrete was thrown at the 26-year-old man’s windscreen, shattering the glass. There are rumours that the car overturned but this did not happen.”

Pillay said the police were inundated with calls of concern from the public after the first rock-throwing incident two weeks ago. The reward initially set up by Macpherson has also since snowballed to a whopping R250 000 for information that will lead to a successful conviction.

“Although a reward was put forward, there was so far only one call that we received last week from an anonymous person. We are investigating the matter and our vehicles have been frequently patrolling the high-risk areas.

“By next week, SAPS is hoping to join forces with the community as well as private security companies to hand out pamphlets with information about the reward, in Zulu and English, to surrounding communities.”

Tongaat Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) spokesperson Nazir Sadak advised that people remain vigilant when travelling, especially at night.

“As far as possible, motorists need to try to not stop as this is a hijacking tactic. If someone is injured, they need to try to drive their nearest hospital and call SAPS from there. If they are unharmed, they should drive to their nearest police station.”

A petition to ‘Stop random bridge violence in South Africa’ has also been doing the rounds. In less than a week it has already received 1 134 signatures. A Whatsapp group to discuss and report the issue was also formed last weekend.

>>  Ready to say ‘I Do’ on the Dolphin Coast? Meet the team ready to advise, help and deliver on your big day.

>>  Visit our Education feature for a collection of all the best schools, tutoring systems, and even some colleges and training facilities on the North Coast.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram