A Mpumalanga man appeared in court this week after refusing to renew his car licence since 1995 due to the state of the roads in the area.
A Mpumalanga man appeared in court this week after refusing to renew his car licence since 1995 due to the state of the roads in the area.
reported that Johan van Niekerk, a 67-year-old veterinary surgeon from Machadodorp, was arrested on Monday and later appeared in the Belfast magistrate’s court.
The newspaper reported that a provincial traffic chief said Van Niekerk had not renewed his licence since 1995 and ignored warrants totalling about R10 000. The surgeon said he had not ignored the warrants as cases against him had actually been thrown out of court.
Van Niekerk said that only 13,38 per cent of the total of licence money went to the roads department. “They are only interested in collecting money, but neglect road safety. They have never tested my car for roadworthiness and they know it’s not licensed,” he said.
He said he was pulled over when he passed the traffic department as he was not allowed to drive on a public road with an unlicensed vehicle. “But then they allowed me to drive that very same unlicensed car to the police station,” he said.
“Now my peaceful protest has been turned into a big thing. I was arrested to frightened other people.”
Van Niekerk, who was granted bail of R200, will appear in court again on April 14.