Cape Town - Calls are mounting for President Cyril Ramaphosa and government intervention after long distance coach company Intercape revealed that three or more of its buses came under attack.
The company believes it is a “violent campaign” waged against the industry by rogue taxi associations and has written personally to President Ramaphosa and government pleading for intervention to stop the campaign.
They believe it is aimed at forcing Intercape as well as other long-distance coach companies out of operating in certain regions and routes.
All of the attacks took place in Gauteng on Thursday and Friday evening. The attacks left two people injured.
A 35-year-old Intercape bus driver died in a Cape Town hospital on Thursday, days after being shot and critically wounded outside the company’s depot.
In the latest incidents, on Thursday night, an Intercape bus en route from Pretoria to Umtata was shot at from within an unknown sedan vehicle on the M2 highway in Johannesburg.
The passengers were transferred to another coach to continue their journey. A case was registered at the Jeppe police station.
On Friday night at 7.40pm an Intercape bus en route from Pretoria to Umtata came under attack as it was approaching the Geldenhuys Interchange from the M2 to join the N3 Highway. The driver and a passenger were injured and later treated.
Also on Friday night, at 7.45pm around seven kilometres before Johannesburg Station on the M2 highway, the occupants of an unidentified car driving in the fast lane opened fire on an Intercape coach travelling from Durban to Pretoria.
The bullet wet through the driver’s door and exited the left side window, injuring the driver who was struck by flying glass.
In the space of 13 months there have reportedly been over 150 recorded violent incidents and over 60 cases opened with various police station. There have been no arrests to date.
“We could no longer keep quiet about the extortion and violence directed at Intercape and the long-distance coach industry in this country and we made a public appeal to President Ramaphosa and government and this has since resulted in an escalation of attacks against Intercape coaches over these last two days,” said Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira.
He said despite there having been over 150 reported incidents in the last year, there had been no arrests.
Ferreira labelled the campaign of violence, which has included shootings, arson attacks and incidents of rock throwing, as “business capture” or “industry cleansing”.
IOL