DURBAN - A FOREIGN national truck driver says he was left traumatised after being assaulted by a group of men outside Maydon Wharf in Durban on Sunday.
Zimbabwean-born Edmond Sinyoro said the group identified themselves as being members of the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa (ATDFASA), representing local truck drivers.
The incident comes as the truckers’ forum strengthened their call to have foreign nationals removed from the freight industry, but they have steadfastly denied being involved in attacks on them.
Sinyoro said he had been driving a truck to load cargo at the harbour and was to drive to Joburg that day.
The 49-year-old said the moment his truck approached the gate, he was stopped by men with sjamboks and knobkerries. “From that moment, I knew that I was in deep trouble and my life was at risk,” he said.
Sinyoro said a man asked him to step out of the truck and produce his documents and driver’s licence.
“One of the guys started saying ‘no, no, no, no, ikwerekwere leli (this is a foreigner) and these are the guys who are taking our jobs’; from there, I knew I was going to be beaten up. The other guy grabbed his knobkerrie and asked me when I was leaving South Africa before tripping me and I fell.”
He said the group attacked him and one struck him on the head with a knobkerrie while others were kicking him all over the body.
“Luckily, I managed to escape and ran straight inside the harbour. The security then called the police, and the men ran away and warned that if they saw me on the road again, they would kill me.”
“I have been in South Africa for many years and have been driving since 2005. This is not my first time being attacked. I can’t just leave my job because I support my family with my earnings,” he said.
Sinyiro’s attack came after attacks on a number of foreign national drivers in Richards Bay in northern KZN at the weekend. These included drivers from Lesotho and Swaziland who were accused of stealing jobs and settling for low pay.
City of uMhlathuze communications manager Mdu Ncalane said the City was disturbed by the incident that took place over the weekend.
Ncalane said: “The city is the second-largest GDP contributor in the province and such incidents are an attack on the economy itself. Activities like imports and exports take place in the city and trucks are essential in distributing whatever comes into our port. Delays have a knock-on effect and should be condemned,” he said. The City would meet industry captains and forums on Friday to engage on the matter.
Road Freight Association (RFA) spokesperson Gavin Kelly said the violent attacks were unacceptable because there were structures in place to deal with these issues. A task team of government departments including Home Affairs, Labour, Police and Transport was formed in June 2019 after trucks were torched, especially in KZN.
He called on the various ministries to act swiftly to ensure the perpetrators were apprehended. He said the ministries also needed to ensure that steps were taken to ensure that legislation was adhered to so that this activity would cease.
“The Department of Transport has published proposed regulation amendments which will assist South African companies in ensuring that the correct drivers drive South African registered vehicles.
“The RFA has suggested a number of measures (since the start of the violence in 2019) that would ensure legal foreign drivers are employed in whatever capacity is required,” he said.
THE MERCURY