Buses and trucks destroyed, but no arrests

Police are unable to effect arrests during the fiery protests along roads linking Gqeberha to Kariega because, they say, “police don’t arrest communities, they arrest individuals”.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said the challenge was that the perpetrators burnt the tucks, damaged the infrastructure, and then ran away.

A heavy police presence remained in place on the affected roads on Wednesday in a bid to ensure they remained open.

A truck and a bus were torched in ongoing violence in the Motherwell-Addo road area on Tuesday night.

Beetge said a bus had been set alight at about 7.30pm on Tuesday in Xhama Street, NU12, Motherwell, and at 6.45am a truck was burnt on the Addo road/R335 close to the Motherwell Cemetery.

The violence began on Monday afternoon when a truck was hijacked and looted and set alight on the R75 near Perseverance.

It erupted in earnest on Tuesday before dawn, and before midmorning three trucks and two Algoa Bus Company buses had been gutted.

The action had allegedly been staged by the Ibhayi Workers Forum.

The forum, purportedly working as a recruitment agency for the unemployed in Motherwell, is demanding an office at the Coega Development Corporation recruitment centre and that all vacancies should be advertised through them.

The corporation has requested a meeting on April 20.

HeraldLIVE