Subscribers can listen to this article
Fire and smoke remained visible on Tuesday afternoon, 28 January 2025, at the Siyabuswa Putco depot following an incident where buses were set alight on Monday night. Photo by Raymond Morare
PUTCO loses over R150 million.
This is after 50 buses were burnt to ashes by thugs at the Moloto, Wolwekraal, and Siyabuswa Putco depots in Mpumalanga on Monday, 27 January.
The destruction of the buses resulted in significant financial losses.
According to Putco spokesman Lindokuhle Xulu, the damage also included vital infrastructure.
DailySun Putco spokesman Lindokuhle Xulu standing next to a fence where its alleged thugs entered to torch 18 Putco buses at Wolwekraal Depot in Mpumalanga on Monday, 27 January 2025 at night. Video by Aaron Dube pic.twitter.com/GdtUTx1XK9
— Aaron Dube (@AronDube) January 28, 2025″Putco buses have surveillance and tracking devices. Each Putco bus has four cameras monitoring driver behaviour and other activities happening inside the bus,” he said.
Xulu reported that 18 buses were completely destroyed, while 28 were saved at the Wolwekraal depot.
“The unfortunate part is that it’s a mix of the new and old buses. At this depot, no one was injured.”
He further said there’s suspicion that thugs entered the depot by breaking through the fence.
“There’s suspicion regarding security. They might have been alerted about the burning of the buses as they broke the fence.”
DailySun 17 Putco buses were set alight at Siyabuswa Putco Depot in Mpumalanga on Monday, 27 January 2025, at night.
On Tuesday afternoon, the fire was still visible on another bus and also smoke from other bus. Video by Aaron Dube pic.twitter.com/8tuzdtbOuf
— Aaron Dube (@AronDube) January 28, 2025ALSO READ: Two bust with zol worth 1,2 mitha!
Meanwhile, there was still visible fire and smoke at the Siyabuswa Putco bus depot on Tuesday afternoon, 28 January.
One of the buses is still on fire hours after firefighters tried to kill the blaze. Photo by Raymond Morare
While at the Siyabuswa depot, Xulu said: “Firefighters were called in. They responded and managed to douse the flames. They must explain why we still have buses on fire hours after the incident.”
He mentioned that the torching of the buses occurred at different times.
The first incident at the Moloto depot was reported around 8.30pm.
The incidents in Wolwekraal and Siyabuswa happened around 10.30pm.
“It looks like it was the same modus operandi. Obviously, time frames were different. It seems one group had to do it on the one side and allowed time to travel to the other side,” he said.
Xulu stated that there were no injuries at the Siyabuswa and Wolwekraal depots.
He said two security officers are usually stationed at the site per shift.
“We haven’t received any threats. We’ve tightened our security. We have spoken to the police. They’re on high alert.”
For more news and entertainment in the palm of your hand, follow our WhatsApp Channel via this link
Next on Daily Sun
Bank invests in kasi school!
29 Jan
Show Comments ()
0 Comments