A senior municipal official in northern KwaZulu-Natal has become the latest victim of a surge in cross-border crime, surviving a carjacking attempt that left two of her alleged assailants dead.
The incident involved Deputy Mayor of the uMhlabuyalingana local municipality, Zodwa Mtshali. According to reports, the attack occurred last Saturday shortly after Mtshali had been dropped off at her home. Her bodyguards were then confronted by three armed men who demanded her vehicle.
A confrontation ensued, resulting in two of the armed attackers being shot and killed. The third suspect managed to flee the scene. The event has intensified concerns from local crime-fighting structures about a persistent wave of violent crime in the area, which borders Mozambique.
This is the second time Mtshali has been targeted. In an interview, she revealed that another one of her official vehicles was stolen in June of last year.
“What is painful is that people are not afraid of state property,” Mtshali stated. “And one day they will hijack police vans and take police guns. They don’t care now and they come to the people knowing very well that they are fully armed.”
Mtshali said the vehicle stolen in the previous incident is believed to have been smuggled into Mozambique.
Beyond the immediate threat to safety, the deputy mayor highlighted the crippling effect these crimes have on development in the impoverished district. “These crimes dent the image of the area as business people are reluctant to come and invest… because they are concerned about their vehicles,” she explained, noting that even Eskom vehicles operate under difficult conditions due to hijackings. “It is painful and we need an urgent intervention of government.”
Mtshali suggested that the completion of Jersey barriers could help curb the cross-border movement of stolen goods and vehicles.
The attack on the deputy mayor was not an isolated incident. Just a day before, a local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, survived a harrowing ordeal. Four armed men ransacked his home, tied him and his children up, and forced them into the back of his 4×4 bakkie. They were later dumped in a forest in the middle of the night.
“They slapped me and I realized that they were serious and I cooperated,” the victim recounted. “They took all of us to the bakkie at gunpoint and they dumped us in the forest. Just imagine from 8:00 p.m. until 2 in the morning.” His vehicle was also allegedly smuggled across the border.
Local crime-fighting structures report that authorities are struggling to contain the syndicates. While they admit that police units deployed from outside the province have helped reduce crime overall, they say it has not stopped the smuggling of vehicles and counterfeit goods across the border. The main problem, they claim, is that the kingpins remain free and continue to recruit young people into the criminal networks.