CAPE TOWN - For years, long-distance bus service Intercape has requested police assistance. They have also gone as far as asking the then Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to intervene.
On Monday, help seemed to have finally arrived when six men and a woman appeared at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court. They were arrested at the weekend in a coordinated operation across Cape Town, Matatiele and Mbombela.
The arrests follow a multidisciplinary coordinated investigation across three provinces, spanning over seven years.
The seven, aged between 35 and 65, will face 124 charges involving extortion, intimidation and protection money.
Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira has alleged that their fleet was under violent attack from mafias. In 2022, the company went to court to compel authorities to provide a plan for their protection.
Their bus services from the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape would come under attack as stones would be pelted at the buses or they would be shot at.
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The Grahamstown High Court granted an order in favour of Intercape. However, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s appeal against the order was dismissed.
Ferreira, at the time, was also not happy with the plan that government had put forward.
This as passengers and staff would be injured while on their respective journey. The service provider subsequently halted services in certain ‘no-go’ areas. However, in January 2023, they resumed their services.
In April 2023 the bus operator sued then Police Minister Bheki Cele for the failure of the SAPS to stop the spate of attacks against its vehicles.
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Since 2020, they have opened about 164 criminal cases, without a single arrest.
While Intercape is the main complainant in the matter before the court on Monday, there are other service providers with similar complaints of falling victim to the suspects arrested.