30 November 2023

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has strongly condemned the killing of a Professional Nurse during yet another hijacking incident, this time in Ndwedwe, iLembe District Municipality yesterday.

The male Professional Nurse was driving in a state vehicle with five other health professionals, on the way to a training session in Durban, when they were approached by a gunman who opened fire and forced them out of the vehicle before driving off. The Professional Nurse was shot three times and rushed to Appelsbosch Hospital, where he sadly succumbed to his injuries.

In another similar incident, also in the Ndwedwe area, a health worker was also hijacked while coming back from an outreach programme recently. The perpetrators held him at gunpoint before taking his belongings, including mobile phones, before driving in with the state vehicle.

"We are shocked and appalled by the alarming rate of the seemingly targeted hijacking of health service state vehicles, as well as the killing of health workers. It is brutal and completely unacceptable. We would like to convey our sincere condolences to the family of the demised Professional Nurse, and will also arrange for psychological counselling for the other health workers who witnessed these gruesome and disturbing incidents," MEC Simelane said.

"Seemingly, the same modus operandi is being used, in which Department of Health vehicles are being targeted, mainly in the Ndwedwe area. The first vehicle that was hijacked was a Toyota Etios. And during yesterday's incident, a seven-seater Suzuki Ertiga was taken. It is quite well-known what these types of vehicles are mainly used for. And we are calling on law enforcement agencies to act swiftly in investigating these cases, and to uncover the syndicates who are targeting the state vehicles, and make arrests. We should never get to a stage where such reprehensible behaviour is regarded as the norm in our society, because it has dire and far-reaching emotional and psychological consequences. Families are losing bread-winners, and we cannot accept that," MEC Simelane said.

The MEC also expressed her concern that double-cabs and ambulances seemed to be in high demand in various parts of the province.

"The hijacking of healthcare vehicles seriously cripples the manner in which we provide healthcare services to our communities, and actually instills fear among our employees. We therefore call upon community members to also report these syndicates, because surely, someone, somewhere knows something about who is hijacking these vehicles, and where they are being sold. The time has come for our communities to say, 'enough is enough', so that these criminals are removed from our society,” Simelane said.

MEC Simelane said she would have engagements with her counterpart MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr Sipho Hlomuka; KZN Police Commissioners; and the provincial leadership of the Community Policing Forum on how to curb the scourge of these hijackings.