News24.com | Intercape sues police minister after 14 more attacks on its buses

A bullet hole in an Intercape bus.

• Intercape is suing Police Minister Bheki Cele after another 14 attacks on its buses.
• The attacks were mainly in the Eastern Cape, and brought the total number of attacks since 2020 to more than 160.
• The coach company has embarked on several legal bids to compel the government to protect its buses from shootings and stonings.

Long-haul bus company Intercape is suing Police Minister Bheki Cele over what it says is a "complete and utter failure" to implement a safety plan to prevent its buses from being attacked.

This comes after another 14 attacks on buses in the Eastern Cape in recent weeks. At least three people have been wounded and two severely assaulted since the beginning of March, Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira said.

He added that long-distance coaches were shot at and stoned, and that drivers and passengers were intimidated "by taxi operators in towns across the province".

He described the attacks as "a campaign of organised crime" that is "part of a pattern of racketeering activity".

Since 2020, Intercape has opened more than 160 criminal cases, predominantly in the Eastern Cape.

In a 112-page affidavit filed in the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda on 31 March 2023, Intercape claimed the police and investigative authorities failed to stop the "calculated campaign of criminality" and were yet to make an arrest.

READ | After passenger is shot, Intercape wants to force police to escort buses in ECape

It also called on the Hawks to take over the investigation into the attacks.

Intercape listed Cele as the first respondent, followed by national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola.

The company also cited the police commissioners of the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the North West, along with the head of the Hawks, the National Director of Public Prosecutions, and the head of the Investigating Directorate.

The latest legal bid comes after a string of litigation by the long-haul coach company.

It follows a court order for former transport minister Fikile Mbalula to work with the police in developing a plan of action to secure the safety of Intercape coaches.

In September, Intercape approached the court for an order to compel the government to take positive steps to ensure the safety of the industry.

The court gave Mbalula and Eastern Cape Transport and Community Safety MEC Xolile Nqatha 20 days to formulate the plan, with input from the police, to stop the attacks.

Nqatha filed an action plan on 28 October. However, on the same day, Mbalula gave notice of his intention to apply for leave to appeal the court order.

The application for leave to appeal had the effect of suspending the operation of the order.

In December, the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda ordered that Mbalula "immediately, and with the utmost urgency, develop and implement an action plan to ensure the safety of long-distance coach drivers and passengers".

READ | Mbalula loses bid to appeal order compelling him to mitigate attacks on Intercape bus drivers

Intercape has since asked Nqatha to prepare a revised action plan with the company's input.

The bus company said it had been forced to institute the latest legal action following the "startling inaction from the Minister of Transport and the MEC for Transport and Community Safety for the Eastern Cape" in responding to the crisis.

"The attacks against Intercape, particularly in the Eastern Cape, have continued despite several court orders compelling the transport minister and provincial counterpart to work with the South African Police Service to ensure the safety of passengers and Intercape employees," Ferreira said in a statement.

In its affidavit, Intercape argued that even though SAPS and the Hawks have "the power and duty to investigate the cases opened by Intercape at both the individual and collective levels, they have failed to do either".

The company said that out of the 165 cases it opened, one arrest was made in connection with the April 2022 murder of Intercape driver Bangikhaya Machana. Ferreira added that the charges were later withdrawn against the accused.

Intercape is asking for an urgent order declaring that the SAPS and the Hawks failed to properly investigate and prevent crimes from being perpetrated against Intercape.

"Amongst others, it asks that the court order that a report be submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) within 60 days detailing all steps taken and progress made in investigating each of the cases opened and the status of each investigation to enable to the NPA to coordinate the investigation and prosecution of the crimes," Ferreira said in the statement.

"While it has previously approached this court to require the transport authorities to devise an action plan to ensure that Intercape can safely transport passengers to and from the Eastern Cape, the drafting and implementation of that action plan has been woefully inadequate," the affidavit read.

"Unless and until those responsible for orchestrating these acts of violence are placed behind bars, and a clear message is sent that this type of organised crime will not be tolerated, the risk of injury and death will persist," the affidavit read further.

The police ministry, transport ministry, and Eastern Cape transport department had not commented at the time of publication. Their comment will be added once supplied.