Senior manager in water industry arrested after Pretoria road drama

The City of Tshwane says the VIP Protector assigned to Tshwane City Manager Johann Mettler was driving along Francis Baard Street approaching Thabo Sehume Street in Pretoria when he came across a motorist who was allegedly obstructing traffic in a silver Mercedes Benz.

The police official activated a siren and signaled to the female motorist to move in order to avoid obstructing traffic, but she allegedly refused to obey his instruction. 

Upon showing the motorist his appointment certificate and writing out a fine for the motorist, she allegedly grabbed his official vehicle’s keys, removed them from the ignition, drove off and left the police official stranded in the inner city.

"The police official immediately called his supervisor from the planning section and informed him of the incident, and the supervisor, together with freeway patrol, located the suspect through the vehicle’s tracking system and chased her on the R21 south," says Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba.

"During the highspeed chase she allegedly kept ignoring the police’s instruction to bring her rental car to a halt but ultimately, she stopped. After stopping, police politely requested her to hand over the keys of a state vehicle, and she allegedly refused. 

"She drove off again, apparently in a rush to catch a flight, and police gave chase and eventually apprehended her at the OR Tambo International Airport.

"She was taken to the Pretoria Central Police Station where a case docket of common robbery and theft was opened against her with CAS number 347/03/2024 and was briefly detained. She was later released and allegedly refused to sign the 299 form - a form completed when issuing back SAPS 13 items to the owner."

The keys of the official state vehicle were also recovered from the suspect, who is a a senior manager at a subsidiary of one of the water boards.

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