Police confirmed in a statement that eight suspects have been arrested and charged with obstructing the movement of traffic on the N3 highway, on Tuesday.
N3 protest ends in arrests, police confirm
Police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele revealed that suspects linked to the blockade that disrupted traffic between Swinburne and Montrose on Tuesday will face criminal charges for “obstructing other road users from freely using a national road.”
“The blocking of the N3 outside Harrismith started on Monday, 25 October 2021, at approximately 23:30, when a group of truck drivers blocked the national road demanding to meet the Minister of Transport with the aim of addressing their concerns on foreign truck drivers.
“On Tuesday, 26 October 2021, police were mobilized to attend to the situation. Negotiations were conducted between the police and truck drivers who were warned to remove the trucks so as to allow other motorists to use the road,” Makhele noted.
Things quickly escalated when the drivers walked away with keys to their trucks that were left stationery on the highway which, at the time, was completely inaccessible.
The drivers were allowed 30 minutes to remove the obstruction but they failed to comply.
“The truck drivers failed to comply and walked away with keys leaving the trucks on the road. The police exercised their powers as guided by law and effected arrest on eight people. In the process the towing services assisted in successfully removing the trucks that were blocking the road as to allow free flow of traffic,” Makhele added.
The police confirmed that the eight suspects are in custody and will “appear before the Harrismith Magistrate’s Court soon on charges under the National Road Traffic Act and public violence.”
The drivers protest, it’s believed, is related to disgruntlements with the employment of foreign nationals in the freight industry.