South Africa: Road Blockade Grips Ngcobo After Bus Escort Sparks Fury

The Eastern Cape government says some trucks were said to have been hijacked and used to shut down the R61, leaving the road blocked at both entrances to town.

Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha says the blockade is criminal and has called on the South African Police Service to act fast to restore safety and mobility.

Ngcobo has been thrown into chaos after a protest on the R61 grew into a full road blockade, with heavy-duty trucks placed across the route and residents stuck in town overnight.

The Department of Transport in the Eastern Cape says taxi operators are said to be behind the action.

The trouble started when the South African Police Service decided to escort an Intercape bus and other long-distance buses through the area. This came after a deadly attack on a bus earlier in the month.

Taxi operators were reported to be angry about the escort, and on Tuesday they were said to have told all public transport drivers not to carry passengers. This left many people stranded with no way home.

By Wednesday morning the protest had escalated. Trucks were placed across both sides of the town, shutting down traffic. The department says some of the trucks were said to have been hijacked before being used to block the road.

Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha said the blockade is a criminal act.

"We will not tolerate acts of lawlessness disguised as protest. The blockading of a major route, the alleged hijacking of trucks, and the deliberate endangerment of innocent commuters is criminal -- not industrial action," said MEC Nqatha.

"The right to protest cannot supersede the rights of communities to safety, mobility and access to essential services."

The department says it is watching the situation closely and is working with the South African Police Service, local authorities and other groups to reopen the route and get services running again.

Intercape, the country's largest bus operator, has been in a long-running legal fight with the state over violence aimed at long-distance buses. Last year Intercape won its final court battle when the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court dismissed an appeal by the provincial transport department and the South African Police Service.

The case began in 2022 when Intercape secured a court order against the then minister of transport Fikile Mbalula and provincial officials.

Read the original article on Scrolla.