A Gauteng traffic police officer has died after he was knocked by a bus during a routine law enforcement operation on the N1.
It’s understood the officer was hit by the bus while he was in the middle of the road, trying to stop another vehicle.
The driver of the bus has since been arrested and charged with culpable homicide.
Gauteng Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane has conveyed her condolences to the family of the deceased.
“The MEC [Nkosi-Malobane] is disturbed by this incident, more so that it’s happening the festive season. What pains her the most is the way the officer was killed,” says Gauteng community safety spokesperson Ndivhuho Gadisi.
Meanwhile, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) says the government should convene a national Transport Indaba to address road fatalities, adding it has reached national crisis level.
The party has raised concerns over the increasing number of deaths on the country’s roads during the festive season.
Last week, Transport Minister Blade Nzimande announced that road fatalities had increased by 16% between 1-18 December.
IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa says the government isn’t taking any meaningful steps to address this problem: “We’ve seen the same lamentation expressed by the government without any meaningful, corrective action being taken decisively to deal with this national crisis. So, the IFP is proposing that the government convene a national Transport Indaba to comprehensively deal with the crisis.
Source: EWN
