Two DA staff hijacked at gunpoint in KwaZulu-Natal, party's branded vehicle torched

• Two DA staff were hijacked and kidnapped just outside Richmond.
• They were driving a branded DA vehicle used by the party for campaign purposes. 
• A case of hijacking, kidnapping, theft and damage to property has been opened with the Richmond police. 

Two DA staff members were hijacked and kidnapped while driving in a vehicle used by the party for campaigning purposes.

The vehicle was later set alight by their attackers.

The incident is said to have occurred on Monday around 21:15 just outside Richmond, a town situated on the banks of the upper Illovo River in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands 

Speaking to News24, DA KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Dean Macpherson said the attack happened as the two staff members were making their way back from the campaign trail. 

"The two staff members were driving a truck that we normally use for our campaigning. They noticed a suspicious white bakkie [pickup truck] with blue lights resembling those used by law enforcement following them. The vehicle was quiet relentless and after initially not stopping as they could tell that something was suspicious about the car behind them, they eventually pulled over to the side of the road where five armed individuals proceeded to hijack them," said Macpherson. 

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He said the two staff members were driven to a location almost 20kms from where the hijacking took place where the five assailants tied them up using cable ties, forced them to lay facedown while they proceeded to search, strip and set the DA vehicle alight.

The two occupants in the DA vehicle were not harmed nor were their personal belongings such as cellphones and money taken. 

Macpherson said the fact that the DA vehicle was clearly branded and the assailants masqueraded raised suspicions that this could have been politically motivated. 

"The fact that the personal belongings also where not stolen also raises more questions," said the DA provincial leader. 

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He added that "just last week a DA member was assaulted" by an individual belonging to another party and they had laid criminal charges and this was then followed by another violent incident against his party was deeply worrisome. 

Following the hijacking incident, the DA opened a case at the Richmond Police Station.

A police officer at station confirmed that a case of hijacking, kidnapping, theft and damage to property had been open under the case number 59/9/2021.