A 20-year-old man, Mr Lubisi Muntu, briefly appeared in the Mhlala Magistrate’s court on Monday on a charge of car hijacking. This follows an incident that took place along the Zantia Trust and Dwarsloop road in the Hoedspruit area last Friday evening at about 18:00.

According to the police spokesperson in the Mopani area, Capt Maano Sadiki, the victim, a 40-year-old woman, was driving along the said road when the incident occurred. Along the way, she saw a Ford Bantam bakkie that seemed to have capsized alongside the road.

The woman stopped with the aim of offering assistance to the victims of the accident. As she was walking towards the vehicle, three men armed with firearms emerged from the nearby bushes and pointed the firearms at her. They grabbed her, put her inside the boot of her Toyota Corolla and drove in the direction of Bushbuckridge. When they arrived at Thulamahashi Town, they opened the boot for her and forced her withdraw cash from an ATM machine.

Thereafter she was put in the boot again and they drove to a local drinking spot where they stayed for about an hour, drinking while the woman was nearly suffocating inside the boot. Later on they drove back to town and forced the woman to withdraw more cash at gunpoint.

According to the police statement, the total amount of cash that she withdrew that night is R2 700. After withdrawing the money, they drove to the woman’s home in Bushbuckridge. On arrival at her home, they demanded food. After eating, they left her at home and drove away in her car.

The car was found abandoned at the Marite Trust setlement the following morning. Upon investigation the police found that the Ford Bantam which the hijackers were using had been stolen from Hazyview the previous day. The police arrested one of the three suspects, Lubisi Muntu, on Sunday.

According to the police statement, the suspect was armed with two firearms, a special revolver with two live rounds of ammunition and a 9mm pistol with three empty catridges. He appeared in court on Monday and the case was remanded for today, Friday, October 21. The search for the other two suspects was still on at the time of going to press.