Durban — Monday was the sixth time the Kloof and Highway SPCA was hijacked and history repeating itself for field officer Doctor Mthombeni.
Digit FMS franchise owner Barry Fritz said the client contacted them and they activated a recovery team.
Fritz said there was a network issue in the area and with the weather as it is currently (inclement weather), it is a lot more difficult for recovery teams.
He said the vehicle was recovered within 35 minutes.
“This specific vehicle has been taken four times in two years and we’ve done six recoveries for the SPCA,” Fritz said.
He said they can disable a vehicle with an sms, leading to a better chance of recovery and deterring the suspects from stripping the vehicle.
He also said with the recent recovery, although the vehicle was stripped, it was not stripped extensively. The suspects had about five to 10 minutes of stripping.
Fritz added it was his mission to make vehicles like Hiluxes, Fortuners and Amaroks unstealable.
Kloof and Highway SPCA operations manager Sarah van Heerden said Mthombeni was called by an elderly woman in Hammarsdale who needed their help with her cats.
“Sadly, as he was placing the cats in his vehicle he once again felt the familiar stab in his back from a hijacker. This has happened to him before, and he recognised the scenario only too well.
“Fortunately, he remained calm and on seeing that the person jumping into the driver seat had the gun, but the second person shouting at him was unarmed, he took his chance and ran,” Van Heerden said.
She said when Mthombeni was hijacked before, the suspects forced him into the vehicle and drove around with him. This time he was not going to allow that.
“Fortunately for the Kloof and Highway SPCA our tracking company responded immediately and tracked the vehicle...,” Van Heerden said.
She said Mthombeni’s main concern was the cats’ well-being and thankfully, they were unharmed.
“The same cannot be said for our inspectorate vehicle. Once again, is this incident not such a sad reflection of a society that will target the vulnerable, the very people going out of their way to help, the people who are always working in the communities,” Van Heerden said.
She stated that the Kloof and Highway SPCA has always stood behind the belief and slogan that they will never allow an animal to suffer, but when seeing their staff at risk, listening to their harrowing ordeals and having to provide them with counselling, how much longer can they be there for all these animals needing their help.
“This is the sixth hijacking our inspectorate department has endured and the reality is it will not be their last,” Van Heerden said.
She said Mthombeni is receiving counselling and on Thursday he will be back in the field responding to the next animal that needs his help. Why? Because they care, because they do and because the animals need them.
“Please may we ask you to be patient and kind when we tell you that we will not be able to come out for a stray on the freeway at 12 at night, or an animal that has been sick for 2 days, but now needs our help at 1 in the morning. Our inspectorates’ lives matter and we will not take unnecessary risks. Thank you for your understanding,” Van Heerden said.
The Daily News approached police with a case number for comment. However, police said the case number was invalid.
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