Eight arrested following barricading of the N3 Toll Route

The police have arrested eight people on the N3 near Swinburne Farm under National Road Traffic Act for obstructing other road users from freely using a national road by blocking it with their trucks.

The blocking of the N3 outside Harrismith started on Monday, 25 October 2021, at approximately 23:30, when a group of truck drivers blocked the national road demanding to meet the Minister of Transport with the aim of addressing their concerns on foreign truck drivers.

On Tuesday, 26 October 2021, police were mobilized to attend to the situation. Negotiations were conducted between the police and truck drivers who were warned to remove the trucks so as to allow other motorists to use the road. The negotiations were unsuccessful and drivers were ordered to remove the trucks that were blocking the road near Swinburne within 30 minutes. The truck drivers failed to comply and walked away with keys leaving the trucks on the road. The police exercised their powers as guided by law and effected arrest on eight people. In the process, the towing services assisted in successfully removing the trucks that were blocking the road to allow free flow of traffic.

The eight arrested suspects will be charged and are expected to appear before the Harrismith Magistrate’s Court soon on charges under the National Road Traffic Act and public violence.