Members of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) have arrested two suspects believed to be directly linked to a Truck Hijacking Syndicate operating in Durban.
picture 1: credit RUSA
Around 4 pm Tuesday, local security company RUSA received a tip-off that five males were tempering with a refrigerated trailer on the R102 Northbound lane abeam King Shaka International Airport (KSIA). They had a white Toyota Corolla which was their getaway car.
picture 2: credit RUSA
Reaction officers arrived on the scene and in an attempt to approach the men, four of the men sped off in the white Toyota Corolla. One suspect was fleeing on foot behind the getaway vehicle trying to stop it.
The officers split into two groups with one group in pursuit of the getaway vehicle while another team initiated a foot chase. The first suspect was apprehended about 500m from the trailer. He was found in possession of an unlicensed 9mm pistol (picture 3) a mobile phone and bank cards.
picture 3: Credit RUSA
An inspection through his phone was carried out regarding hijackings and drop-off locations of trucks. Several videos of suspects that were recorded inside truck cabins were also found in the phone media gallery. One video identified the truck that was hijacked on Monday that was reported at Bellair SAPS Case 105/01/2023.
The getaway vehicle was recovered on Old Main Road in Canelands following a high-speed chase. The driver was apprehended shortly after exiting the vehicle. He informed Reaction Officers that he was employed at an E-Hailing company and he was used by the hijackers to pick and drop them at various locations.
A second set of number plates were recovered in the boot. An extensive search of the surrounding cane field was conducted for the remaining suspects, however, no further arrests were made.
The owner of the trailer arrived shortly thereafter and informed Reaction Offices that his driver & conductor were hijacked by five men in a white Toyota Corolla last night (Monday) near Edwin Swales. The victims were driven to Kwa Mashu where a second truck hitched the trailer that was loaded with R250 000 worth of perishable goods.
The hijacked truck was abandoned and the victims were released without injury. Upon inspection of the trailer following the arrest, it was discovered that the entire loaded was still intact.
Both suspects and all exhibits were handed over to the Tongaat SAPS for further investigation.
Reaction Unit South Africa lines were buzzed multiple times with reports of murder-suicide in Lenham. Residents called for assistance after a man gunned down a female on aGlosen Place, later on, he turned the gun at himself and killed himself.
As the reaction officers arrived on the scene they discovered the body of a female believed to be in her late thirties lying on the road outside her property. She sustained a single gunshot wound on her head.
Due to the degree of injury, she was pronounced deceased. The body of the partner who also was in his late thirties was discovered in his flat one road away from the initial shooting.
It is alleged the two were in a relationship. The man allegedly confronted the female outside her residence where they started a heated argument.
He produced a firearm and shot her before he fled to his flat. The deceased`s teenage daughter from a previous relationship was in the house at the time of the incident.
The male requested a glass of water from his mother and requested that he see his 13-year-old son from his first marriage when he returned to his home. He allegedly embraced his son before taking his life.
He used the .38 special (picture below). According to his mother, he purchased the firearm on Saturday. The weapon is believed to be unlicensed but this is yet to be confirmed.
Circumstances surrounding the murder/suicide were not immediately established.
A family in Amanzimnyama discovered a human skull in their yard this morning. They called for assistance from RUSA with the situation as it came as a surprise to the unsuspecting family.
The officers arrived on the scene and discovered the human remains on the lawn. The homeowner told the officers that two of his dogs have a tendency of exiting the yard through a hole in the fence. He mentioned that the dogs do this as a habit and go into the dense forest next to their house to forage.
He went on to mention that he believe the dogs were located and returned the human remains to the yard while they were asleep.
The jaw bone on the skull appears fractured/dislocated.
The National Funeral Practitioners Association says the constant load shedding is making it difficult for people to bury their loved ones within the recommended four-day period.
Man walking on green grass at graveyard/Pexels
The planned power cuts are causing havoc in the funeral industry, which is struggling to process corpses.
Families have been urged to bury their loved ones within four days of their death to avoid possible decaying.
But the association’s Dududu Maganu says mortuaries should have backup systems for when load shedding hits.
“With the decision of whether one is buried is not entirely made based on the heat or load shedding. It depends on the readiness of the family financially, particularly because of the financial implications attached to this on whether the family is able to pay for the funeral or the service. ”
“So there’s a number of things that need to be looked at. Some families will be submitting claims and because of load shedding, those claims will no longer be processed between 24 and 48 hours. Some of them are being posted up to 72 hours or more.”
A dark cloud has fallen over Ugu District Municipality with two of its most senior leaders have died in the space of three days.
Newly appointed municipal manager (MM) Dr. Elliott Ntombela died in hospital last Saturday. Mayor Phumlile Mthiyane died suddenly on Monday this week.
Dr Elliot Sibusiso Ntombela was employed as the Ugu District Municipal Manager at the time of his death.
Mthiyane began her reign as mayor of the district in November 2021. At that stage Ntombela was serving as the acting MM. Ntombela was admitted to a hospital in Richards Bay, where his family is based. He had gone to visit for the holidays as he was on leave.
He was in the hospital for just over two weeks. Mthiyane died at her home in Uvongo from a suspected heart attack. The municipality issued statements confirming the deaths.
Mayor Phumlile Mthiyane died suddenly on Monday this week.
Mthiyane, who was born and raised in Izingolweni, KwaShobashobane, leaves behind five children. She served in many political structures over the years, including the youth and women’s leagues.
In 2011, she was sworn in as a councilor at Ezinqoleni Municipality.
In 2018, she became deputy mayor of Ugu and in December 2021 was elected mayor. She had been in the position for only 14 months. Mthiyane is not the first Ugu mayor to die while in office. Tolomane Myayiza died in December 2016 and had been in office for only four months.
Mthiyane’s brother, Zakhele Shozi, said her death was ‘really painful’ for them.
“She would call me every day, I knew her every move as we were always talking.”
Mthiyane’s funeral service will be held at Ugu Sports and Leisure Centre this Sunday. Mzwandile Mkhize, Ntombela’s brother-in-law, said the MM had been diagnosed with stage four cancer.
“He was admitted to the hospital on December 31. He was discharged after a few days but went back again because he was suffering from severe abdominal pain and was vomiting. The cancer was then discovered and he died less than three weeks after that.”
Mkhize said that despite the best efforts of doctors, who had started giving him treatment, there was nothing they could do as both his kidneys had been damaged.
Ntombela leaves behind his wife and three children (two boys and a girl).
He was officially appointed as the MM in October 2022, after being in the position in an acting capacity for over a year. He was laid to rest in Richards Bay yesterday.
Durban is somewhat of an overlooked destination in South Africa and most people don’t know of its hidden qualities that make it so special. Here’s a round-up of what Durban wished tourists knew.
Our ocean is warm
Our part of the Indian Ocean is heated by the warm Mozambique current up north, meaning our actual sea water is warm to swim in. Unlike the frigid Atlantic along South Africa’s west coast (ahem, Cape Town), we can swim at our beaches without getting hypothermia.
We have the largest Indian population outside of India
Many people outside of South Africa don’t seem to know that Durban has the largest Indian population outside of India. Indentured labourers were once brought to Durban by the British to work in the sugarcane fields. They are now a part of Durban’s culture, adding a twist to everything from local fashion to food flavours.
We are a cheaper destination than Johannesburg or Cape Town
Durban is significantly cheaper than the other two main cities. Our smaller economy and proximity to the harbour where imports arrive means our markets, rent, goods and even food are cheaper.
We have some of the most beautiful sunrises in the world
Durban is on the east coast of Africa so you get breathtaking views of the sun coming out of the water early in the morning, making our city one of the best places to wake up in.
Our golden beaches spread from the north down to the south across the Golden Mile and the Dolphin Coast with at least six Blue Flag beaches in KwaZulu-Natal alone. The water is warm and perfect for surfing, snorkelling and kayaking. If you don’t want to get in, you can always just sit on the sand and watch the water, check out the sand sculptures or whale watch.
We have the biggest mall in Africa
Gateway Theatre Of Shopping opened in 2001 and is one of the 50 largest malls in the world. It’s airy and bright and boasts more than 90 restaurants, 400 stores and the highest mountain in Africa.
We are friendly
Durbanites are pretty laid-back and we think it’s because we live at a slower pace than bigger cities caught up in concrete jungles and rat races. This means we’re more patient, more involved with our families and have more time to enjoy our city. This combination makes us quite a friendly and helpful bunch.
Our city is warm all year round
The truth is unlike other parts of South Africa, Durban never really experiences winter and it’s often why it’s dubbed “South Africa’s playground”. It’s almost always sunny in Durban and the warm current keeps the land warm so the lowest our temperatures drop to is approximately 18° Celsius (64° Fahrenheit). Local people, of course, believe even this drop is too much to bear and they stay at home covered in blankets.
South Africa is a mixing pot of cultures that Durban contributes richly to. We have local Zulus, Indians from the south and north India, white people of British and Dutch descent and a range of other cultures and religions. They have found a way to meld together to create such a multicultural city that churches, mosques and temples are built right next to each other.
If you’re going to “crack a bunny”, don’t use utensils
The bunny chow invented by local Indians is a quarter loaf of bread stuffed with curry. It’s unique and delicious but whatever you do, don’t pick up a knife and fork to eat it with; Durbanites use their hands to eat it and utensils are frowned upon.
Our aquarium is world-class
The uShaka Marine World has an underground aquarium designed around shipwrecks that is the fifth largest aquarium in the world. It also has a Wet ‘n’ Wild section with water rides that includes the highest waterslide in the southern hemisphere.
We have it all; mountains, valleys and the sea
Durban not only has a beautiful sea but further inland towards the Midlands we have beautiful valleys with waterfalls that run into conservation parks and even further inland we have the majestic Drakensberg mountains.
We run some of the biggest art events in the country
The Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) hosts some of the biggest national art events in the city like Poetry Africa, Time of the Writer and the Durban Film Festival which many international artists have attended.
We like to laugh (mostly at ourselves)
Comedy shows have always done well on our shores and no one laughs harder at our curious habits and strange accents than ourselves. However, be warned: while we like laughing at ourselves we don’t take kindly to people who pick on our cultures, customs or accents. It might sound odd, but we like adding an occasional “but” to the end of a sentence. To you it might sound incorrect, to us, it sounds right, but.
Durbanites have their own lingo
If you hear something like, “Ek se, it’s cold, I’m vaaing posie to catch a dop”, don’t be alarmed. Durban has its own slang that ranges from a mishmash of local expressions to derivatives of Afrikaans and Zulu. In fact, we think it’d be pretty “kiff” if you learnt some too.
1. Durban was originally called Terra do Natal by Vasco da Gama when he visited in 1497.
The first European to set foot on Durban soil was Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, who spotted this area from his ship on Christmas day while looking for a trade route to India.
He named the land “Terra do Natal”, Portuguese for Christmas Country. Hence the names “Natal” for the region and “Port Natal” for the settlement on its Indian Ocean seaboard, which came into existence in the early 1800s. Until that time the region remained off European radar until 1823 when Lieutenant F.G. Farewell’s ship sheltered from a storm here.
It has, however, a much longer history of habitation.
It is believed by archaeologists that this region, like most of South Africa, was inhabited by the San people, also known as Bushmen, as long ago as 100,000 BC.
These Bushmen, who were hunter-gatherers, were eventually displaced by the southward migrating Bantu tribes 500 – 1000 years ago. They are the ancestors of South Africa’s black population today.
2. It has the busiest container port in Africa and is the 9th largest harbor in the world.
The Port of Durban, commonly called Durban Harbour, is the largest and busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa. It handles up to 31.4 million tons of cargo each year. It is the fourth largest container terminal in the Southern Hemisphere, handling approximately 4.5 million TEU in 2019.
3. The first steam railway in South Africa was opened in Durban in 1860.
In 1860, South Africa’s first steam train ran from central Durban to the Point, in the harbour area. The large Durban station that was built years later is still visible, in that its main building is preserved as a national monument.
4. Mahatma Gandhi, political activist and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement actually started his political career in Durban when he arrived in 1893.
Mahatma Gandhi spent his formative years in South Africa, where he developed his philosophy of satyagraha, a form of active yet peaceful resistance to political injustices. The original Phoenix Settlement in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, was inspired by Gandhi, encapsulating his vision for a community based on self-reliance.
Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi arrived in South Africa in 1893 aged 24 on an assignment as a newly qualified lawyer. He remained in the country for 21 years, occasionally visiting India and England. While living in South Africa, Gandhi was inspired by a visit to a Trappist community in Mariannhill and by John Ruskin’s book, Unto This Last, to find a communal living system. In 1904 he chose Phoenix to establish a community based on self-reliance and the value of labor on the land for the common good.
5. The Bunny Chow is typically representative of Durban – a hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry
Bunny chow, called a bunny for short, originated in the large Indian community of Durban, on the eastern coast of South Africa. Although various origin stories exist, they all have one thing in common: White bread was the only bread available with which Indian immigrants could eat their curries.
6. The world’s oldest and largest ultra-marathon, the Comrades Marathon, takes place here.
The oldest ultramarathon is the Comrades Marathon in South Africa, established on Empire Day, 24 May 1921, by First World War veteran Vic Clapham in memory of South African soldiers killed in World War I. It has been held annually ever since, apart from 1941–45 during World War II. It is also the largest ultramarathon, with typically around 20,00 entrants. The number for the 2015 Marathon was capped at 23,000 entrants. The race is approximately 90 km (56 miles) long and runs between Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal Province, and Durban on the coast.
7. One of the top surfing destinations in South Africa
Sometimes referred to as the Bay of Plenty, Durban is a mecca for South African surfers. There is seldom a day when the wave is not working, and you can choose your spot according to the size of the swell. It gets bigger the further north you go, starting with beginner-friendly waves in front of uShaka Marine World and progressing to the pro-worthy left and right-hand breaks at New Pier. Keep an eye out for territorial locals at New Pier, Dairy, and North Beach.
8. The rickshaw was brought to Durban, in 1893, by the sugar baron Sir Marshall Campbell, from London.
Rickshaw pullers have been operating in Durban for more than 100 years. Rickshaws were brought into the KwaZulu-Natal province in 1893 by Sir Marshall Campbell (a sugar magnate) to provide comfortable transport for his wife. Today, this situation has changed dramatically as rickshaws are run by the Zulu population and incorporated into their culture, and cater specifically to tourists.
9. The town got its name from the former governor of the Cape Colony Sir Benjamin D’Urban in 1835.
On 23 June 1835 Port Natal was renamed Durban in honour of Sir Benjamin D’Urban, governor of the Cape Colony from 1834 – 37. It is thought that the first known inhabitants of the Durban area arrived from the north around 100,000 BC. Little is known of the history of the first residents, as there is no written history of the area before it was first mentioned by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, who came to the KwaZulu-Natal coast while searching for a route from Europe to India.
Two men were killed and a female was shot in Emona this morning (Saturday).
A call for help was made to Reaction Unit South Africa to their help. The reaction officers were dispatched as soon as they could, and on arrival, they discovered one person was on the road. He was confirmed stabbed and declared dead.
The second body was discovered a distance away from the first body approximately 500 meters away (Pictures 2 & 3). Witnesses said that the man was shot while consuming alcohol with a group of men. A female was shot in the leg.
The motive for the murder was not established as investigations are going on.
Warning: Picture May Be Considered Graphic & Is Not For Sensitive Readers
A man in his thirties was shot twice while walking to his place of employment in Phoenix earlier this morning (Saturday).
A passerby heard a cry for help and rushed to check, RUSA was called around 02:02 am to come to the help of the victim.
A reaction team was dispatched, and upon arrival, they found that the victim was shot in his right arm and at the back.
The victim told the officers that he was shot without a warning from behind. The robbery was ruled out as the motive as the victim still had his valuables in his possession.
Meanwhile, public assistance is required to locate a white VW Golf with registration NJ 79708.
The vehicle was hijacked by six armed suspects on Neptune Drive in Riet River at approximately 20:00 on Friday.
According to the victim, he was parked outside a General Dealer when he was confronted by the gang. They forced him out of the vehicle before they assaulted him.
They stole his cell phone and sped off in his vehicle towards Zwelisha – KZN.
If you spot the vehicle please contact RUSA on 086 1234 333.
A mobile clinic vehicle was set on fire in KZN and the staff members on board were held hostage. The woman staff member was forced to pay money to the group of men which forced them off the road in the Umzinyathi District.
It is alleged that the medical team was on duty on their way to different clinics as per their normal routine. During this operation, they were forced off the road by armed men who were in a Toyota Quantum.
According to the Department of Health, a nurse had to pay her last R300 to the men after they put a tire around a male colleague’s neck and threatened to douse him with petrol, and set him alight.
The suspects demanded to know why the medical team was working while they (suspects) are unemployed.
“The men set alight one of the vehicles, and completely smashed the windows of two others. The highly-traumatised staff members have had to receive counseling,” the department said in a media statement.
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