The four suspects arrested in connection with the arson of 17 Putco buses in Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga, abandoned their formal bail application during their court appearance on Wednesday.
Isaack Mabena, 29, Luthando Trevor Skosana, 37, Steven Sipho Mthombeni, 27 and Mduduzi Luvuyo Masango, 31, made a brief appearance at the Mdutjana Magistrate’s Court in Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga on Wednesday.
Suspects face various charges
The four suspects are facing charges of armed robbery, essential infrastructure damage charge, malicious damage to property and possession of suspected stolen property in connection with the torching of 17 Putco buses at the Thabana Putco bus depot in Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga.
In January, 51 Putco buses were torched at various Putco depots in Mpumalanga. Sixteen buses were burnt at the Moloto depot, near KwaMhlanga. Another 35 buses were burnt at the Siyabuswa depots (18 in Maphotla and 17 in Thabana).
Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the matter was on the roll on Wednesday for the suspects’ formal bail application.
“All the accused informed the court that they were abandoning the bail application,” said Nyuswa.
Matter postponed
She said the matter was postponed to April 10 2025 for further investigations.
On January 27 2025, 51 Putco buses were torched by a group of 35 armed suspects driving in a white Toyota Quantum, Vito Minibus and a VW Polo.
The suspects, who were wearing black clothes and balaclavas, stormed into Putco depots in Mpumalanga and torched the buses.
Two employees were injured during the attack. One was shot in the leg, and the other was physically assaulted with a chair. Both victims were taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Damage estimated at R250-million
After the incident, Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said the total cost of the buses torched is an estimated R250-million.
Xulu said the torched buses had four cameras each inside and a smart tab system for ticketing. He said approximately more than 3, 000 commuters could be affected by the arson attack.
Xulu said there are unresolved tensions between Putco and the taxi industry in Mpumalanga. However, he did hasten to add that Putco is not attributing the arson attack to the taxi industry.
Tensions with taxi industry not to blame
“It is a known thing in terms of the tensions that have been mounting between the taxi industry in Mpumalanga and Putco. The taxi associations there have given us trouble in terms of operating.
“But it is not us speculating that the taxi industry is involved. We do have tensions between us and them that are unresolved. But we are not saying it is the taxi industry [responsible for arson attack],” said Xulu at the time.
