Traffic cops accused of theft
Two Gauteng traffic cops have been accused of car theft.
David Matsena
Two Gauteng traffic cops have been accused of stealing a car in Mabopane, northwest of Pretoria.
The complainant, Lebogang Mahlangu, says he was driving from Ga-Rankuwa to Mabopane to deliver a car for his boss on July 30 when Gauteng traffic officers stopped him.
The two traffic officers, whose names are known to Rekord, demanded papers for the Toyota Venture he was driving.
“I told them I do not have papers for the car because the car is not mine, but for my boss. They decided to impound the car. They took the car keys and removed the license disc,” he said.
“They said they were also taking me in. I told them I needed to buy airtime by the garage. I went into the garage, but when I came out I saw them driving away in their car and the Toyota I had been driving.”
Mahlangu said he notified the owner of the Toyota Venture, who was in Ga-Rankuwa.
“We followed the traffic cops to their Pretoria offices in Koedoespoort. The car was not there,” he said.
“We asked to see the two traffic cops (whose names I took from their name tags) who impounded the car. They told me the car gave them problems on the way and they decided to abandon it on the side of the road.”
Mahlangu said he and the owner went back to where the officers abandoned the car, but it was nowhere to be seen.
This prompted him to lay theft charges at Loate police station.
Police said the investigation was continuing. The two traffic cops had been questioned but denied any responsibility.
“The two traffic cops said there was a red VW Jetta coming from behind them when they dropped the car. One of the Jetta’s occupants claimed that he was the owner of the Toyota Venture and took it,” the investigating officer said.
He said the two traffic cops were not off the hook yet.
Mahlangu said he failed to understand why the two traffic cops has not been arrested because their names were known to the investigating officer.
“The case has been dragging on since August. The investigating officer is hiding something. Those people are his colleagues. They have probably paid him to stop investigations.”
Gauteng Traffic police spokesperson Busaphi Nxumalo was not aware of the case.
“We will conduct our investigation, especially because you have provided us with the case number and then afterwards we will make a statement,” she said.
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