Home | News | 4 TRUCKS SET ALIGHT, 4 DRIVERS KIDNAPPED, 2 HELD

4 TRUCKS SET ALIGHT, 4 DRIVERS KIDNAPPED, 2 HELD

08/11/2022 09:28:00 Times Reporters

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MBABANE – After a heavy shootout with a group of men who kidnapped four drivers and torched four trucks in two hours, the police have detained a pair.

The fierce shootout between members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and the group of men, who were reportedly responsible for kidnapping a taxi man, two truck drivers and a motorist, happened in Matsapha in the wee hours of yesterday morning. According to impeccable sources, the havoc that unfolded on Sunday night, started along Louw Street which is sandwiched by the Manzini Bus Rank and Shoprite Supermarket (former Vukuzenzele). At about 11pm, a man hired a Honda Fit vehicle in order to be transported to Mbikwakhe where he was to be joined by a companion. The taxi man is said to have agreed to the request by his ‘customer’ and they drove to the said destination.

Destination

Upon reaching their destination, instead of one person joining them, two men reportedly came towards the sedan and did not board the vehicle but supposedly pulled out a gun and ordered the taxi driver to hand over his cellphones before bundling him into the boot. Thereon, it was said one of the trio drove the sedan and had another stop at Mhlaleni where they were joined by another passenger. After that, they reportedly stopped at a filling station along the Central Distributor Road. It was said in the boot where the taxi driver was, there was a container of petrol. After filling the container, they reportedly drove towards Hhelehhele, where they had a miniature stop. Impeccable sources claimed that while at Hhelehhele, the quartet spotted horse and trailer trucks that they could set alight.

Agreed

It was said they eventually agreed on one truck which was ferrying sugar cane and driving towards Simunye. The four are said to have followed the truck while constantly flashing the lights of the Honda Fit, signalling the truck driver to stop. The truck driver reportedly ignored the flashing lights and this resulted in the Honda Fit overtaking the truck. Sources claimed that thereafter, the Honda Fit constantly minimised its speed on the descending slope towards Mzimpofu River. They said this caused the truck to minimise speed as it also lost its momentum and having to ascend the hill towards the entrance of St Joseph’s Mission. It was said as the truck ascended at a snail’s pace, one of the occupants of the sedan got out of the car, ran to the passenger’s side of the horse and pulled out a gun, ordering the truck driver to stop. The truck driver was said to have also had his cellphone confiscated by the four and also bundled into the boot of the Honda Fit.

Parked

The sources claimed that one of the passengers then drove the truck and parked it in between the Manzini – Mbhadlane lane of the MR 3 Public Road. Thereafter, it was gathered that the quartet set the truck alight and the time was around 11pm. After this, they reportedly drove towards Mafutseni and made a U-turn, supposedly at one of the underpasses so that they could join the Mbhadlane-Manzini lanes. Thereon the quartet reportedly drove towards Siphofaneni, where they had to turn along the way after seeing police officers on the road, who were attending to an accident. As they drove back, they are said to have noticed a South African registered horse and trailer truck. The sources said the quartet tried to stop it and its driver knocked the Honda Fit in the process.

This reportedly resulted in one of the four pulling out a gun and shooting the windshield on the driver’s side. The sources said the truck then stopped and again, one of them drove it and parked it in such a way that it blocked both lanes of the road. Thereafter, they reportedly set it alight and bundled its driver in the boot of the Honda Fit sedan as well and this happened after midnight. It was said that thereafter they drove off; however, their vehicle ran out of fuel metres away from the burning truck. The sources said as they were stuck with the kidnapped people, a grey seven-seater drove past and stopped after passing the ablaze horse and trailer truck. It was gathered that as the seven-seater vehicle stopped, its driver was pointed with a gun and ordered to get into its boot. The quartet, according to the sources, left with the seven-seater vehicle; while dumping, the two truck drivers, taxi man and the damaged Honda Fit vehicle.

The sources said the last stop was at Mhlaleni OK Foods where two trucks were burnt. These were a Hyundai mini truck branded OK Foods and also another which was seemingly transporting animal feed. The time was around 1am. Thereafter, the source said after torching the trucks at Mhlaleni, Matsapha around 1am, they also tried to bomb two automated teller machines (ATMs) belonging to First National Bank (FNB) and Swaziland Building Society (SBS), but their plan was unsuccessful. Moreover, the sources said the unknown men fired gunshots at vehicles which were passing the area using the MR3 Highway. They said some of the motorists called the police and informed them about the matter and they made arrangements to attend to the incident. They said when the police arrived at the scene, they opened fire and the unknown men, who had been joined by some of their associates, sped off in different vehicles, while shooting back at the law enforcers. They said some of them took the Mhlaleni/Mbikwakhe Road and upon seeing that the police were hot on their heels, they stopped the car and tried to run away on foot. In the process, the sources said one of the guns fell to the ground and it was confiscated by the police.

Apprehend

Again, they said the police managed to apprehend two of the men and they were currently assisting them (police) with information regarding the arson attacks, among other things. They said the gun was a rifle that was manufactured in Russia. They added that in their car, the police found a lot of alcoholic beverages, which made them to conclude that the men were imbibing. They said the two men were kept at Matsapha Police Station and the gun and car, which they were driving in when running away from the police. It is worth noting that after the police arrested two suspects in connection with arson attacks, earlier on in the year, it was reported that there was a group of unknown people who rented some flats at Mbikwakhe, an area between Mhlaleni and Ludzeludze. The group of men were said to be constantly drunk such that elders of the community were convinced that they were being paid for partaking in arson attacks.