By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
Not a single suspect has been arrested after Intercape bus company opened 167 cases of intimidation, physical attack and murder in the past three years.
Of these cases, 14 took place at the weekend.
Intercape received an order from the Makhanda High Court compelling the then Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to protect the long-distance luxury bus service from thugs in the taxi industry.
Attacks on buses with passengers on board continued and have increased this year mainly in Idutywa, Butterworth, Ngcobo and various towns in the Eastern Cape.
Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira said they are left with no choice but to sue Police Minister Bheki Cele after their fleet suffered attacks and intimidation over the Easter weekend.
“As early as the Easter weekend we had a number of attacks on the Intercape buses, specifically in the Eastern Cape,” Ferreira told the eNews channel.
“We don’t have a choice here, we can’t sit back, we can’t sit idle and watch our coaches and our drivers and passengers being attacked night after night.”
He said the constant attacks range from company buses being pelted with stones to being shot at.
Last month, a passenger told Scrolla.Africa he felt lucky to be alive after an Intercape bus was attacked and shot while travelling through Cradock in the Eastern Cape. The same passenger is now demanding compensation from Intercape for their injuries.
Ferreira said taxi associations in parts of the Eastern Cape have resolved to get rid of the national carriers in their towns, creating no-go zones for long distance buses.
“When we stopped operating in the no-go zones, as they would say, the taxi operators went and they got buses, and they are now transporting the passengers,” he said.
“It was a well calculated move; you drive out your competition with fear and violence, and then you take over and do the job yourself.”
In towns where the buses were being attacked in the Eastern Cape, local police simply failed to secure the pickup points for the buses.
Too often, the towns have no secure bus stops, so the passengers are at great risk boarding the buses while taxi operators are still at war with the bus company over routes.
Pictured above: An Intercape bus
Image source: Twitter
