Zimbabwean truck driver escapes death after being ambushed by 6 gunmen in S.A

A Zimbabwean truck driver has survived an ambush by six gunmen who attacked him 35km before he could reach his destination.

Joseph Chidodo, 45, was transporting a load of frozen chickens form Standerton to Linbro Park in Johannesburg.

According to SowetanLive, Chidodo said a group of armed men ambushed him at about 4.42am yesterday when he slowed down to look at what appeared to be burning tyres in the middle of the road.

He tried to make a U-turn but the assailants opened fire at his truck and tried to open its doors. Chidodo’s truck was torched on the highway after he jumped out of the window and fled on foot.

Chidodo and another a 33-year-old SA truck driver, who asked not to be named, are the latest victims of recurring violent attacks targeting truck drivers across the rainbow nation.

The unnamed 33-year-old South African driver employed by logistics company Digistics, who was heading to Middelburg, Mpumalanga,  from Johannesburg said he stopped along the N2 highway after he saw Chidodo’s truck on fire in the middle of the road.

“As I was driving under the bridge on the N12 towards the off-ramp, I noticed a burning truck on the right side of the road and I slowed down, thinking the driver of the other truck needed help but the worst happened,” said the driver

“The heavily armed three men shot at the truck. I jumped out of the truck and ran towards the back and found my way into the nearby bushes.”

The attacks, according to police are said to have peaked in July and have forced some trucking companies to beef up security and increase patrols to identified hotspots on major national roads.