Three buses petrol bombed in Roodepoort protest

A group of protesters petrol bombed three Metro buses outside Princes Crossing Shopping Centre in Roodepoort on Wednesday afternoon.

“The group of people from Princess informal settlement was protesting on the road outside the Princess Crossing Shopping Centre in Roodepoort‚ complaining about the service delivery in the area.

Three new buses were petrol-bombed next to the Shopping Centre as they passed through the area. Windscreens were broken but fortunately‚ survived extensive damage. As a result‚ the two Euro-5 buses can be repaired by tomorrow afternoon and be assigned back to work.

“Pick n Pay staff was able to assist the driver of the third bus‚ a Euro-3‚ to extinguish fire which had engulfed his vehicle. The bus will need extensive repairs before returning back to work‚” said Metrobus in a statement.

Costs of the damage are still to be determined but are expected to run into thousands of rand‚ the company said.

All passengers inside the three buses were not injured during the petrol bombing attacks. Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) has been deployed to monitor the situation. MMC of Transport in the City of Johannesburg Nonhlanhla Makhuba‚ the condemned the violent protest and attack on the Johannesburg Metro buses.

"We strongly condemn such acts and we are currently tightening our legislation to ensure that those responsible for random damage on government property meant for serving the community to face the full might of the law”‚ said Makhuba.