Robbery roads: AfriForum intervenes in spike traps
10 April 2024
The civil rights organisation AfriForum announced today that its neighbourhood watches in and around Pretoria are giving their commitment to combating the serious increase in the use of spike traps that are currently recorded on several main routes, especially on the outskirts of the city. This civil intervention forms part of AfriForum’s broader campaign to curb the criminal bloodshed carried out by opportunistic criminals and possibly even organised groups using spike and stone traps in particular.
Several serious incidents of spiking have been reported over the past few weeks. A man was killed the Sunday before last (31 March) in an attack on the N4 east of Pretoria when robbers stabbed him with a knife after his vehicle’s tyres were damaged by sharpened iron spikes placed on the road. He was attacked, robbed and killed when he pulled over to inspect the damaged tyres.
This modus operandi is becoming ever more common and even ambulances and vehicles from the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) have been the target of these attacks.
According to Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson for Community Safety, it was found that sections of the N1 north of Pretoria, the R80, the N4 in the north of the city as well as the N4 route in the vicinity of Pretoria East have already become notorious for these traps. In addition, other roads such as Garsfontein and De Villebois Mareuil Drives have also been identified as ambush hotspots.