Johannesburg - Joburg motorists have called on police to put a stop to the growing spate of robberies following a picture shared on social media showing three men robbing motorists at Jan Smuts Avenue in Hyde Park.
Motorists said they were tired of criminals who take advantage of peak traffic to pounce on them.
They want the police and metro police to redouble their efforts and apprehend the thugs.
“If the government officials don't start doing their job properly, more and more citizens will end up taking matters into their own hands. Vigilantism will be a norm,” Simphiwe Mahlungu, a motorist, said.
City of Joburg MMC for public safety Michael Sun said they were aware of the robberies and had received complaints. He said they were working on dealing with the robberies.
This is one of the men caught on camera walking away after robbing motorists on Jan Smuts Avenue in Hyde Park. Picture: Twitter
“We have an operational plan in progress already,” he said.
Metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said: “We became aware of the situation through social media on Friday.
"Undercover officers have been deployed to monitor that area from today (Monday).”
Limukani Hadebe, another motorist, shared with The Star how he once witnessed a robbery.
Another man caught on camera walking away after robbing motorists on Jan Smuts Avenue in Hyde Park. Picture: Twitter
“We were sitting in traffic and this young lady driving a white Polo behind me got robbed. Two guys walked as if they were crossing the street and I was shocked to see one of the guys go half body into the car through the open window while the other one held the lady back, slapping her. It wasn't even quick, it's like they knew traffic would take long to move,” Hadebe said.
Social media users weighed in on Twitter, with @illegaladverts saying: “Been going on for years at that intersection. Stabbings of motorists, armed robberies, just another day in the city of Joburg.”
@karabomophiring tweeted: “The problem is that when you go to the SAPS to report the crime, that's all you are doing... writing an affidavit for insurance or whatever. No investigation data for mapping hotspots and detecting trends. It seems to be too much work.”
Sun urged motorists to be cautious and vigilant when approaching known crime hotspots.
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