Cross-border truck drivers have finally had enough of getting robbed blind and terrorised along the N1 approaching Beitbridge Border Post, and they’ve now taken the fight straight to authorities.
A group of SADC region drivers met with officials from the Border Management Authority (BMA) and SAPS at Beitbridge this week, raising serious concerns about the wave of armed robberies and muggings happening between the traffic weighbridge, Gateway, and the Shell Garage near the border.
Drivers say the situation has become a war zone, with criminals targeting trucks stuck in long queues at night, smashing windows, holding drivers at gunpoint, and disappearing into the bushes with stolen goods while police presence remains barely noticeable.
According to the petition handed over to the Beitbridge port commander Ntakuseni Lambani, drivers are losing cargo, personal belongings, and in some cases even their lives. They warned that the current security vacuum threatens regional trade since Beitbridge is one of Southern Africa’s most critical corridors for freight movement.
The drivers raised several key demands, including:
- Deployment of security forces along strategic points of the N1
- Better coordination between policing and border agencies
- Clearing the overgrown bush along the route where criminals hide
- Installation of proper street lighting
- Zero tolerance for loitering around parked trucks in border queues
The petition was signed under the banner Concerned Drivers – SADC Region Board Members, urging urgent action before the situation turns deadly again.
Many drivers who spoke to SA Trucker say they sleep with one eye open every night waiting for their turn to be hit. “We are not asking for luxury, we just want to come home alive,” one Zimbabwe-bound trucker said.
Read | Trucker shot at Beitbridge border dies in hospital
Authorities have reportedly acknowledged the concerns and promised to respond with concrete interventions, although drivers say they will continue pushing until action is visible on the ground.
“As long as trucks keep moving, the economy breathes. If drivers are not safe, nobody wins.”
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