A South African anti-immigrant organisation, Operation Dudula in KwaZulu-Natal has demanded that transport operators stop hiring foreign national drivers following a road traffic accident that killed 21 people in Pongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal recently.
A truck, which was being driven by an undocumented foreign national according to Operation Dudula, collided with a bakkie transporting schoolchildren on Friday, killing 19 pupils, a teacher’s assistant and the bakkie driver.
Operation Dudula provincial chairperson Mfanafuthi Dumakude on Sunday said the organisation will visit the families and seek to help where they can. Said Dumakide:
As Operation Dudula in the province, we want to get contact details of these families and the company (of the truck in the accident) and follow up on this matter.
From there we want to visit the families and see how we can make whatever donation to assist the families of the victims.
We have to make sure the company responsible for this accident must pay. If there are court cases to attend we will be there in support of the victims.
We can’t let this vanish in thin air like other similar incidents that were hot topics for a while and then died down later, as happened with people who killed others in Phoenix during the July 2021 unrest.
The truck driver reportedly fled after the accident before being arrested on Sunday.
Dumakude claimed the driver was an undocumented foreign national adding that the labour department should be challenged on this issue. He said:
It’s about time we, as an organisation that represents locals, look deeper into this and put pressure on the companies.
It’s one of the issues we want to fight, along with our alliance partners All Truck Drivers Forum in KwaZulu-Natal.
The driver, Sibusiso Siyaya (28) appeared in the Pongola Magistrates’ Court on 21 counts of culpable homicide.
He will remain in custody until his next appearance on Monday, 26 September for a bail application. | TimesLive, News24