Three arrested for Tongaat rock throwing deaths

Three men have been arrested and will be charged with the murders of 16-year-old Amina Haffajee and her seven-year-old brother, Abdur, of Vereeniging in a rock-throwing incident late last year.

The men, aged between 20 and 46, will appear in the Durban magistrate court today (Friday) in connection with the deaths caused when they allegedly dropped a large rock from the bridge over the N2 highway near Crocodile Creek on December 27, 2017.

According to KZN police spokesperson colonel Thembeka Mbhele, an extensive investigation led by provincial detectives eventually led to the arrest of the three suspects believed to be responsible for the attack.

Read: Huge reward for bridge killers

At the time, Umhlali SAPS spokesperson captain Vinny Pillay said they believed robbery may have been the motivation for the attack.

“It is very possible they dropped the rock hoping to force the driver to stop so that they could then rob the occupants.”

The brutal deaths shocked South Africa and led to calls for bridges to be enclosed.

However, the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) said this would not be possible.

“SANRAL, in general, does not enclose all its bridges that cross over national roads. There are thousands of bridges within the national road network and it will result in substantial capital outlay to undertake such an exercise if rock throwing occurs more frequently,” said SANRAL Eastern region design and construction manager, Ravi Ronny Ronny.

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