An execution-style apprehension of two suspects by a security company contracted to Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has led to one person being shot dead and another admitted to hospital after sustaining injuries while fleeing for his life.
According to TFR, security guards in the Richards Bay Junction area were “allegedly involved in a serious breach of their duties in the hourly hours of yesterday morning”.
Following a reported confrontation between the security guards and two young men in the area, the guards apparently “kidnapped the two and took them to a deserted area, where they were tied up and shot”, TFR has said in a statement this morning.
“One person managed to escape and is currently being treated in hospital, whilst the other was fatally wounded.”
The incident once again bring into sharp relief the tension that has been simmering in the area, especially around supply chain linkages with the Port of Richards Bay*.
Late February it was reported that the All Truck Drivers Forum (ATDF), a notorious and unregistered labour vigilante organisation advocating for job protection in South Africa’s road freight sector, was responsible for disrupting truck traffic in Richards Bay.
In the ensuing days towards the beginning of March, Transnet Port Terminals warned that it had received information from the South African Police Service of planned ATDF action in the area.
The news now of what appears to be an execution-style security breach by guards contracted to assist South Africa’s state-owned logistics utility, only further serves to show that labour-related tension around the Port of Richards Bay seems to be on a knife edge.
In this morning’s statement TFR said it “views these allegations in a very serious light, and trusts that the full might of the law will be applied”.
“The company appeals to the local community to allow the investigation to be concluded and not take the law into their own hands.”
The security company, whose name is known to Freight News, has been approached for comment.
* Read these reports for context: https://tinyurl.com/ynrxc7uk, https://tinyurl.com/mrbapubs.
