#JustIn: Truck hijacking in South Africa affect Namibians

A 32-year-old Namibian, Vilho Panduleni Nyati, is safe at the Namibian High Commission in Pretoria.

This follows his hijacking last Thursday between 11 PM and midnight, along with his truck and cargo, and being held captive for days by unknown assailants. Commissioner Reinhard Haoseb, Nampol attaché to South Africa, confirmed that Nyati was blindfolded and left somewhere in Johannesburg on Thursday. He finally received help at a gas station in Protea Glen, Soweto.

Good Samaritans informed the South African police about a man seeking assistance, and Hoaseb picked him up yesterday morning after the Namibian authorities were alerted. According to Haoseb, Nyati is unharmed and is receiving help with emergency travel documents, which may see him back in Namibia by this afternoon.

The CEO of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, Mbahupu Tjivikua, warned yesterday about the recent truck hijacking incidents involving Namibians in South Africa. Another truck was unfortunately hijacked on Wednesday, he said. "We hope that it will be recovered, as we hope for the arrest of the criminals. We appreciate the assistance of the Namibian embassy in Pretoria," he said. Tjivikua also added that Nyati's truck has not yet been recovered, with the hijacking believed to have occurred on the N3 route just outside Harrismith while he was traveling from Durban. "We are grateful that he was found alive, although all his documents and belongings are lost," Tjivikua said.

Earlier this month, Tjivikua warned Namibian truck drivers to be vigilant when traveling to and from South Africa due to an increase in hijacking incidents. Truck drivers are further advised to travel in convoys. Haoseb also advises truck owners to install multiple tracking devices on both the truck and the trailer. He says criminals in South Africa know how to disable these devices and hold truck drivers captive until they can dispose of the truck and cargo. Furthermore, he encourages having co-drivers so that someone can escape and inform the nearest police station as quickly as possible in case of an incident.