5 held for Gautrain bus shooting

Five people, thought to be former Gautrain bus drivers, were arrested in a sting operation in connection with the shooting of a colleague in Centurion on Monday.

The five, who include four men and a woman, were arrested during the early hours of Tuesday morning in Hammanskraal and Soshanguve following Monday morning’s shooting of Gautrain bus driver Patrick Kgatle, 40.

Kgatle was shot after he stopped for a woman, who is believed to be one of the suspects, as she posed as a passenger. As he stopped, a man, driving in a car behind the bus, got out of his vehicle and ran to the front of the bus, opening fire on Kgatle as he waited for the woman to board, before fleeing.

The shooting is believed to be part of a string of violent attacks on Gautrain bus drivers, apparently by hundreds of former drivers, who were fired after embarking on an illegal strike last month.

The attacks have seen drivers beaten and intimidated, with death threats levelled against the families of drivers continuing to work.

While current drivers have welcomed the arrest, they still fear for their lives and those of their families. “I am very scared. Even though they have caught these people and there are security guards on the buses along with police, anything can happen. We have been given messages that if we do not stop working, our families will be killed. We have been told that the arrests do not mean the end of this violence,” said a driver who asked not to be named.

Another driver said he feared for his family’s life. “I have two small children and a pregnant wife. I have moved them to a friend’s house out of the province because I am afraid of what may happen to them.

“I have been told that if I continue to drive they will be hunted down and I will be made to watch them die. I do not want this to happen, but I have to work to support my family.

“Somebody has to do something to stop this from happening. Someone has to protect us.

“We do not know why these people want to fight with us. It is not us who fired them, but the company. It is the company that they should be fighting, not us,” he said.

Police spokeswoman Captain Pinky Tsinyane said the suspects were arrested in a series of raids which were carried out by detectives from Wierdabrug police station and the Tactical Response Team.

“The arrests were made after police received information from members of the public on the whereabouts of the five.

“The five, who are aged between 33 and 49, and who are being held at Wierdabrug police station, have been charged with attempted murder and malicious damage to property and will appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court soon,” she said.

Bombela spokeswoman Kelebogile Machaka, who welcomed the arrests, said that after the shooting, the Gautrain bus services in Pretoria had been suspended.

“Following the strikes this year, the bus services were suspended.

“They were reintroduced as a trial run on Friday, but after Monday’s shooting they were stopped again.

“While we hope the buses will be running again soon, it is not known when they are likely to be back on line.

“We welcome all government assistance to ensure that there are no disruptions to the services by individuals who have no regard for the law,” Machaka said. - Pretoria News