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In this picture, people are seen looting the overturned truck near the Ingwe Ranch Hotel outside Louis Trichardt.
Date: 09 September 2016 By: Mbulaheni Ridovhona
Christmas came in September for looters along the N1 road last week. Dozens of them pounced on a truck that hadd overturned near Ingwe Ranch Hotel, helping themselves to products such as Cremora creamer, Nivea cream and even books.
In the early morning hours of last Thursday, a truck that was heading towards Musina overturned next to Ingwe Ranch Hotel, not far from Louis Trichardt. The accident occurred near a deadly curve in the road, commonly known as Tshambudzini (goats curve), which had claimed many lives of motorists over the years.
The truck driver, who was in a critical condition, was rushed to hospital. A source who was travelling to Louis Trichardt said that, “I saw a truck losing control when it was about to reach the deadly curve. I knew for sure that it was going to overturn, because that curve is very dangerous.”
While the truck driver was being rushed away by ambulance, people started looting the truck before the police could arrive.
One of the people who was at the scene, carrying off boxes of Cremora creamer, said that she had received a call from her friend, alerting her to what had happened. “After receiving the call, I did not waste any time, but rushed to the scene. Now I am going to enjoy a good tea,” she said.
A driver who was travelling to Nzhelele said he was forced to stop the moment he saw the overturned truck. “I saw people looting the truck, so I decided to join the party. This is an early Christmas for me,” he said.
A concerned bystander said that the scene was horrible as people were helping themselves. He further said that people should stop looting trucks when they overturn and rather help the injured driver. “People are heartless. They rush to loot the truck while ignoring the injured driver. It’s so inhumane to do that,” he said.
The provincial police spokesman Malesela Ledwaba condemned the looting. “It is a serious offence to loot trucks,” he said. He further warned that people could be charged for theft.
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The 22-year-old Mbulaheni (Gary) Ridovhona has been passionate about journalism to the extent that he would buy himself a copy of weekly Univen students' newsletter, Our Voice. After reading, he would write stories about his rural village, Mamvuka, and submit them to the very newsletter for publication. His deep-rooted love for words and writing saw him register for a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies at the University of Venda, and joined the Limpopo Mirror team in February 2016 as a journalism intern.
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