Sunday World reports that another vehicle belonging to the road construction team of the Eastern Cape transport department has been hijacked at gunpoint.

The incident happened outside of Cofimvaba in Askeaton on Wednesday afternoon. The incident was the fourth attack in the province in five weeks and the third in the Chris Hani district municipality. Staff members were using the department’s double cab bakkie for road rehabilitation when the hijacking took place. A group of armed men in a VW Polo stopped the department’s vehicle and confronted the foreman, who was the driver. The assailants demanded the keys, forced the foreman into the backseat, and drove off with him as a hostage. After being released without incident, the foreman reported the incident to the police and his office. The bakkie was found abandoned in a forest in a nearby village in Cofimvaba a few hours after the authorities activated the vehicle’s tracking system. But the vehicle was already inoperable because the criminals had taken several parts out of it. “The repeated loss of vehicles and equipment is hampering progress and straining resources, while the safety of workers remains a growing concern,” said Unathi Binqose, the spokesperson for the department.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Coceka Magubeni at Sunday World

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