The death of a 35-year-old man from Eerste River, after he was
thrown from a moving train on Friday evening, has moved the City’s Mayoral
Committee member for transport and urban development, Councillor Brett Herron,
to request that the national minister of transport, Blade Nzimande, call for a
state of emergency in so far as the rail service in Cape Town is concerned.
Herron’s call comes after 10 men allegedly robbed nine male
passengers on a train travelling between Eerste River and Lynedoch stations at
around 22:00 on Friday. “It is alleged that 10 males robbed nine male
passengers at gunpoint whereby one of the victims, a 35-year-old, was thrown
out of a moving train and died on the scene. The rest of the males were also
thrown out of the moving train whilst being robbed of their personal
belongings. They are said to have sustained injuries and were admitted to various
hospitals in the surrounding area,” said Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa
(Prasa) board chairperson Khanyisile Kweyama in a statement released by the
Prasa board on Saturday 8 September. It was confirmed by police that all the
injured persons are colleagues who reside in Eerste River.
In a statement released by Herron he said his call for a state of
emergency is targeted at ensuring that national government deploys additional
resources to investigate, arrest and prosecute those responsible for the ongoing
attacks occurring on trains, in an effort to assist in turning this service
around and preventing it from total collapse.
Herron, the Prasa Board of Control as well as provincial minister
of transport and public works, Donald Grant, have condemned the incident. “I
wish to condemn this latest attack in the strongest terms, and extend my
sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the man who has lost his
life so tragically. I should also wish those injured a speedy recovery,” said
Grant in a statement released on Sunday 9 September.
Herron expressed the importance of the training of the special
Rail Enforcement Unit and said that Prasa’s failure to pay their part of the
funding for the training is putting their service in jeopardy.
The City of Cape Town alongside the Provincial Government and
Prasa signed a memorandum of agreement in May 2018, committing to jointly fund
the special Rail Enforcement Unit.
“The City and the Provincial Government have stepped up to the
plate and offered unprecedented assistance to Metrorail commuters. We have done
so because our commuters are our residents and they are required to commute
under unacceptable, dehumanising and unsafe conditions. Despite Prasa’s
obligation, as confirmed by the Constitutional Court, to ensure a safe public
transport service and all of our efforts to assist them to honour their
obligation, we are still awaiting Prasa’s contribution of R16m,” said Herron.
The unit will focus particularly on the safety and security of
Metrorail commuters and infrastructure, but due to being R16m short the City
has had to cut down on the number of recruits.
The cost to establish and operate the unit for a year will be
about R47.9m.
Meanwhile, Grant has attributed crime in the rail network to the
inability of police to investigate these incidents effectively and to
successfully prosecute and convict those responsible. “Crime in the rail
network runs rampant and with impunity, largely due to the police’s
shortcomings,” he said.
“Relentless attacks on commuters and the sabotage of our rail
infrastructure have become a weekly occurrence. Commuters are losing their
lives and their hard-earned daily wages and belongings, and some have even lost
their jobs because of Prasa’s failure to fulfil their constitutional mandate to
run a rail service that is safe, punctual and reliable,” said Herron.
Metrorail regional manager, Richard Walker, has assured commuters
that Metrorail and the police will work together to get to the bottom of the
spate of the recurring trend of robberies and other crimes taking place on
trains.
“We are working to return the service to one that is safe,
available, reliable and on time. This is our commitment to the South African
public. Our commitment and resolve in this regard will not be hampered by
senseless acts of violence against our rolling stock and network meant to feed
the gluttony of a few. We call on our communities to stand with us in this
battle to deliver a service that our commuters deserve,” said Kweyama.
Anyone with information about the latest robbery incident is urged
to contact Stellenbosch police on 021 809 9140.
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