The case against two suspects arrested for illegally blockading the N3 toll road, is set to continue in the Vrede Magistrates’ Court on 9 June.
The pair, Motlalepula Kalane (52) and Julia Tokeng (68), appeared on Tuesday, 3 June – a day after their arrest by Free State police.
They are linked to a group who forcefully obstructed commercial trucks operated by foreign national drivers. The mayhem resulted in the abrupt standstill of traffic on of one South Africa’s main economic routes linking the Durban Harbour in KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng.
WO Mmako Mophiring, spokesperson for the Free State police, said the court released the suspects on a warning to reappear on the said date. He said they face preliminary charges of tampering with infrastructure and common robbery. The latter charge pertains to the keys of several trucks taken by force from drivers, many of whom are foreign nationals.
Mophiring said more than 15 freight trucks were left unattended without their keys, heading both northbound and southbound. He said the police attended to the incident after receiving a call from the N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) at approximately 06:30 on Monday.
The police’s initial investigation suggested foreign truck drivers were targeted during the road blockage. “Foreign drivers allege that the group accused them of taking their jobs,” he said. Mophiring said five foreign national drivers alleged that their cellphones were also taken in the process.
