Hannah Omarjee | homarjee@radioislam.org.za
17 July 2023 | 00:00 CAT
3 min read

Photo Credit: EWN

Five suspected truck arsonists appeared in the Mpumalanga court yesterday, 17 July 2023. The docket now includes a case of attempted murder. Over the weekend, there were multiple incidents of truck torching in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo, coinciding with the second anniversary of the violent July 2021 riots. These riots resulted in the loss of over 350 lives and billions of rands in economic losses. Law enforcement has reassured South Africans that further arrests are imminent to address this criminal activity. Radio Islam International spoke with Dianne Kohler Barnard, the spokesperson for Safe Security at the DA, for further insight into the situation.

Barnard said it is important to acknowledge that the recent incidents of burning and destruction can only be classified as domestic terrorism. Despite ample evidence, including videos, the arrests were made by private security companies rather than the South African Police Service (SAPS), which has yet to take decisive action on the matter in what looks to be an attempt to downplay the situation.

Barnard said she would be pursuing legal action under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act to address these acts of terrorism and related activities. This act provides a legal framework to deal with individuals who threaten national stability and the economy through sabotage.

There are claims that the police will arrest the masterminds of these acts soon, but Barnard is doubtful. This is because Police Minister Bheki Cele previously announced that the authorities knew who the masterminds were during the July 2021 unrest. However, it has been two years, and only a few looters have been punished, while none of the alleged masterminds have been arrested. Barnard said, “I really think the charges that have been laid need to be beefed up and to include them as really domestic terrorism as well. “

According to Barnard, billions of rands are paid to crime intelligence agencies, yet they did not have the necessary knowledge and information to prevent the recent arson attacks. It’s not enough to play catch-up after the fact, especially when companies lose vehicles worth millions of rands. Barnard said it is unacceptable to be playing catch up when companies have lost vehicles worth over R2.5 million apiece. Burning trucks driven by South Africans shows that this issue goes beyond xenophobia.

Listen to the full interview on the Daily Round Up with Annisa Essack here.