Durban08102013 Man who does'nt want to be identified was shot at on freeway by blue light brigade at Marrianhill Toll Plaza.Picture:Marilyn Bernard Durban08102013 Man who does'nt want to be identified was shot at on freeway by blue light brigade at Marrianhill Toll Plaza.Picture:Marilyn Bernard
Durban - Two days after laying charges after being shot at by members of a VIP Protection Unit on the N3, a Durban resident is frustrated that he has not received any feedback yet.
Speaking to the Daily News on Thursday morning, 24-year-old Wynand, who asked that his full name not be disclosed, said he had received queries from metro police and a person from the Department of Community, Safety and Liaison about the shooting on Wednesday, but had not had any feedback from police.
It is understood that government officials will be viewing footage from the cameras used to monitor the N3 route.
Recalling the incident on Monday, Wynand said he was on his way back to his office in Durban from Pietermaritzburg when a white Prado, which Wynand says he was later told belonged to a mayor, passed him before the Mariannhill Toll Plaza. It was followed closely by a white Toyota Corolla, and was driving in excess of 130km/h.
He said the Corolla did not have blue lights and, although the Prado did, they were not on.
Once he had passed through the toll plaza, Wynand was between the Prado and Corolla when the Corolla flashed its headlights trying to get him to move over. Because of traffic, Wynand could not move and the Corolla drove next to him on the right, pushing Wynand off the road.
“I indicated to the passenger to ask what was going on, when the passenger rolled down his window and fired two shots at me.”
He said when he stopped, the Corolla stopped in the middle lane about 50-100m ahead, and the driver emerged.
“He pointed a pistol at me and started running. I reversed and he fired shots.”
Wynand reversed over the centre island and started driving in the other direction when the other driver then got back in his car and drove away.
“I decided to go back towards the office to report the incident when I saw the VIP Protection Unit car on the roadside with metro police near the Spaghetti Junction.”
Wynand stopped to tell metro police of the incident and ask them to arrest the two. He was told they could not as they were from the VIP Protection Unit.
I asked metro where the guy’s pistol was and the driver said that had nothing to do with me. He said I had put the mayor’s life in danger and their instructions were to shoot to kill.
“If the mayor was so worried that his life was in danger, why didn’t he stop and tell metro police to do something?”
Wynand opened a case of attempted murder at Pinetown police station after the incident. The following day he went back to the N3 where he retrieved two 9mm cartridges which were handed over to the investigating officer.
“The driver told metro police he’d shot once in the air but I found two shells. My car is 1.84m wide and they couldn't even shoot that, but they’re supposed to be trained to shoot to kill? They could have shot other innocent people.”
Police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, said no arrests had been made.
Lennox Mabaso, spokesman for the KZN department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) said his department wanted to speak to the complainant.
He said it was finding it difficult to conduct any internal investigation that would run parallel to that of the police as it had not made any contact with the complainant.
“What we are being told is that the complainant does not want to have his details given out.
“Even the investigating officer has apparently been told not to give out his details so our only source of information is the media. Everything we do is based on what we have read in the media”.
Spokesman for metro police, senior superintendent Eugene Msomi, said metro police had no record of the incident.
“The man who reported this opened a case with the SAPS so we are waiting for SAPS to contact us,” he said.
Daily News