Publications
Partners
KwaZulu-Natal drivers have no respect for vehicles with blue flashing lights, said VIP unit instructor Thulani Khanyile.
Khanyile was testifying the trial of Hlanganani Nxumalo and Caiphus Ndlela at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court.
The VIP protection unit members are accused of firing shots at a car.
Khanyile said drivers in other provinces gave way to vehicles flashing blue lights and treated them with the same respect as ambulances.
BLUE LIGHT BRIGADE
Hlanganani Nxumalo and Caiphus Ndlela are bodyguards to KwaZulu-Natal social development MEC Meshack Radebe.
Nxumalo is said to have shot at the tyre of a Mazda near Camperdown, resulting in the driver losing control, veering into oncoming traffic, and colliding with a bakkie.
Ndlela was behind the wheel when the incident occured.
Khanyile told the court part of their training involved using the vehicle as a weapon when facing a dangerous situation on the road.
He said if this failed, bodyguards were expected to use a gun by firing in the air to warn those posing danger to the VIPs.
Asked how the vehicle could be used as a weapon, Khanyile refused to explain, citing safety and security considerations.
He told the court members of the VIP unit were expected to do anything to protect their masters.
TOLERANT OF THE DRIVER?
Asked whether breaking the law by using excessive speed was allowed to get MECs to their destinations, Khanyile said this did not amount to breaking the law, but was simply a response to an emergency.
Nxumalo testified that he fired shots because the driver posed a danger to him.
Khanyile said Ndlela had been very tolerant of the driver of the Mazda and suggested that a tougher stance should have been taken.
Khanyile was testifying the trial of Hlanganani Nxumalo and Caiphus Ndlela at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court.
The VIP protection unit members are accused of firing shots at a car.
Khanyile said drivers in other provinces gave way to vehicles flashing blue lights and treated them with the same respect as ambulances.
BLUE LIGHT BRIGADE
Hlanganani Nxumalo and Caiphus Ndlela are bodyguards to KwaZulu-Natal social development MEC Meshack Radebe.
Nxumalo is said to have shot at the tyre of a Mazda near Camperdown, resulting in the driver losing control, veering into oncoming traffic, and colliding with a bakkie.
Ndlela was behind the wheel when the incident occured.
Khanyile told the court part of their training involved using the vehicle as a weapon when facing a dangerous situation on the road.
He said if this failed, bodyguards were expected to use a gun by firing in the air to warn those posing danger to the VIPs.
Asked how the vehicle could be used as a weapon, Khanyile refused to explain, citing safety and security considerations.
He told the court members of the VIP unit were expected to do anything to protect their masters.
TOLERANT OF THE DRIVER?
Asked whether breaking the law by using excessive speed was allowed to get MECs to their destinations, Khanyile said this did not amount to breaking the law, but was simply a response to an emergency.
Nxumalo testified that he fired shots because the driver posed a danger to him.
Khanyile said Ndlela had been very tolerant of the driver of the Mazda and suggested that a tougher stance should have been taken.
