OSHOEK, SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s main border post with Swaziland at Oshoek was blocked by local residents on Saturday in a spontaneous protest against reckless Swazi drivers.
“The residents from South Africa blocked every car and truck with Swazi registration plates from travelling into the country,” said Swaziland Royal Police Force (SRPF) spokesman Superintendent Khulani Mamba.
The protest action followed the funeral of a local man who died from injuries incurred when he was struck by a hit-and-run Swazi driver. The Oshoek protesters said others in their community had lost their lives to speeding Swazi motorists.
“The residents blocked the road for over an hour stating that they did not want any (Swaziland) registered vehicle in their country as these were killing them (after a Swaziland-registered vehicle) allegedly knocked down a pedestrian and sped off,” Mamba said.
As the protest action took place on South African soil, Swazi authorities could not intervene. South African police unblocked the road and dispersed the crowd without incident.
