Johannesburg - Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom was involved in a botched hijacking as he was he was approaching his Kensington home.
The minister was returning home on Monday evening and hijackers emerged from the dark and tried to take his official vehicle.
However, his bodyguards came to his rescue and fought them off. Shots were fired and the gunmen fled. Neither Hanekom nor his bodyguards were injured in the incident.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Noxolo Kweza confirmed the incident but declined to give more details.
“We’re confirming it happened on Monday, but we can’t give more details,” she said.
According to a source who asked to remain anonymous, Hanekom was returning home at about 7.30pm, with his driver and bodyguard, when gun-wielding men approached the vehicle.
It is not known whether the attack happened at a stop sign or when Hanekom was in his driveway. And it is unclear how many men were involved.
“They did not know who it was; they just saw a tinted Mercedes Benz and wanted it. The bodyguard managed to protect the minister and shots were fired. The hijackers fled, but the bodyguards did not chase them as the minister was still in the car. They could not do that in case more shots were fired and the minister got hurt,” the source said.
The Star