A motorist attempted to bribe Road Traffic Inspectorate officers with R700 and braai meat after being arrested for drunk driving in Jozini.
Image: Supplied
A motorist caught speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol was arrested after attempting to bribe Road Traffic Inspectorate officers in Jozini with R700 and braai meat.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma reported on Saturday morning that a motorist was intercepted in Umkhuze during the ongoing #NenzaniLaEzweni Operation.
He said the driver was intercepted while driving under the influence of alcohol and exceeding the speed limit.
“Realising that he was going straight to the police cells, he offered RTI R500 and subsequently topped it up with R200 and braai meat,” said the MEC.
Duma stated that the attempted bribery was captured on camera and will be used in court to ensure a successful conviction.
“We pause to pay tribute to ama RTI amahle for their high level of integrity, commitment, and exemplary conduct in the public service. Good governance partly means that we must reverse the prevailing culture in which bribery is viewed as permissible,” he said.
Duma stated that the most significant difficulty faced is that, amid challenging economic conditions, employees across both the government and private sectors are easily resorting to unethical conduct to meet their financial needs.
“Temptation to resort to bribery becomes a way to get out of indebtedness and to ‘get rich quickly’,” he said.
The MEC saluted the RTI for the projection of an image of hardworking law enforcement officers who are cleaning up the road networks.
“Reckless drivers who are turning our more than 34,000 kilometres of road networks into killing fields are being removed by RTI,” added Duma.
In a separate operation in January, a father and his daughter were among more than 45 motorists arrested for drunk driving during a Road Traffic Inspectorate operation in Mtubatuba.
The daughter had allegedly arrived intoxicated to collect her arrested father.
The arrests were carried out by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport’s Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) as part of ongoing efforts to reduce road fatalities and improve safety on the province’s roads.
According to the department, the father was stopped by RTI officers and arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.
While officers were processing the arrest, the man’s daughter arrived at the scene to fetch him. However, during routine checks, the officials discovered that she was also allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, and she was arrested on the spot.
During the same operation, a fisherman reportedly attempted to offer fish to RTI officers in an effort to avoid arrest.
Following the operation, Duma praised the RTI team for their decisive action during the operation.
“The RTI team assigned to clean up our road network in Mtubatuba is executing #NenzaniLaEzweni with precision. The team is firm and determined to reduce road fatalities. We thank the SAPS for augmenting our operations in Mtubatuba.”
Duma said drunk driving will not be tolerated and that law enforcement operations will continue across the province, particularly in high-risk areas.
karen.singh@inl.co.za