SA trucker flees attack, hides in the bush

“I was attacked with pangas and knobkerries, I grabbed a loaf of bread and ran for 2km into the bush, where I hid for 24 hours.”

This is how Pretoria truck driver Andrew Teme described his escape from a Mozambican mob baying for his blood at Ressano Garcia, a town near the Lebombo border, on Wednesday morning. 

Teme had entered Mozambique on Tuesday when Border Management Authority (BMA) partially opened the gates. He had gone to that country to deliver chrome at the harbour.  On his return back to SA on Wednesday morning, he encountered an angry armed mob at around 9am. “These people were armed with pangas and others carrying knives,” Teme told Sowetan on Thursday.

“They forcefully opened my doors and dragged me out. They beat me and took my wallet, passport and papers for my truck. I managed to grab a plastic bag with a loaf of bread that I had bought earlier and ran for safety to save my life.”

He ran for about 2km into a bushy area.

“When I got there, I called my employer about what had just happened and my battery died shortly afterwards. I could see houses from a distance but I was scared to go there, in case I get attacked again. I spent the rest of the day and night hiding in the bushes. It was cold and I couldn’t sleep.

“My bread kept me strong, and I would occasionally come out to see if there were any other drivers in my situation. I had a big relief when I saw my employer’s car down the road and I flagged it ... I was taken to the SA border where I received some medical attention.”

Teme suffered a few bruises on his back. “I thought I was going to die in a foreign country [and] my family would not even know what had happened to me,” he said.

Mozambican citizens disgruntled with the outcome of the recent presidential elections have been protesting and demanding a recount after Frelimo won 70.67% of the votes. The election was hotly contested, with many young people supporting independent candidate Venancio Mondlane, who claims the vote was rigged and encouraged demonstrations.

Protests started in Maputo and spread to Ressano Garcia towards the Lembombo border  between SA and Mozambique, resulting in SA government to deploy soldiers on the SA side of the border yesterday.

The Mozambican government has since deployed the army to disperse protestors in Maputo.

Tear gas was fired at protesters.

At least 18 people have been killed in the protests, human rights groups have claimed. 

Yesterday at about 10.30am, the BMA shutdown the border after a flair up of violence at the immigration point, where 15 Mozambican officials were rescued by SA officials and kept for safety on the SA side. 

By midday yesterday, protestors moved into Maputo. Reuters reported that protesters chanted “Power to the people” and “Frelimo must fall”, and some blockaded streets with burning tyres and held homemade signs supporting Mondlane.

“This is it. If we don’t stand up now, nothing will change,” said Julia Macamo, 55, a street vendor and mother of six who was still shaken by the teargas she inhaled while protesting in the Maxaquene neighbourhood.

Adriano Nuvunga, director of Mozambique's Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, said the country had never seen such large demonstrations. Civil society groups and Western observers also claim the election was not fair and that results were altered.

On Thurday, Cristovia Gema from the Mozambican consulate in SA, told Sowetan they did not have the figures of fatalities. “I don’t have the statistics now, but yes, there’s some deaths but we will know later as everyone is busy trying to calm the situation’” she said.

“We cannot predict if the protest is going to end any time soon. We initially thought it was going to take a few daysbut the protests are continuing. What’s more sad is the violence..” – Additional reporting by Reuters

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