What began as a routine holiday trip for a Cape Town mother and her 11-year-old son ended in a robbery on the N2, an incident that has sharpened attention on long-standing safety concerns along the airport route.
According to the Daily Voice, Masroefa Kassen was travelling with her son on 13 December, heading to drop him off with his father for the school holidays.
Using the Airport Approach Road, the pair were diverted onto Borcherds Quarry Road after their vehicle suffered a flat tyre around 1pm.
While stranded, Kassen said they were approached by a suspect who stole her purse and her son’s bag containing his clothes.
‘The suspect was a single individual, he was actually bare chested, he didn’t have a t-shirt on, but it was like they were sitting and waiting there,’ she said.
She added that the incident unfolded quickly and left her unable to identify the suspect.
Highway patrol officers who responded told Kassen that a similar incident had occurred in the same spot the previous day.
‘The highway patrol officers that came onto the scene told me that the day before the exact same thing happened,’ she told the Daily Voice, adding that broken glass from the earlier attack was still visible on the roadside.
A good samaritan, Brian Adonis from Athlone, stopped to help change the tyre and later accompanied Kassen to Nyanga police station to open a case.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed that a theft out of motor vehicle case was registered.
‘The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation and arrests are yet to be made,’ Twigg said.
The mother-and-son robbery is one of several incidents that have intensified calls for intervention along the N2, particularly near the airport, a stretch used daily by residents, workers and tourists.
In response to ongoing attacks, the City of Cape Town has confirmed plans for a security wall estimated to cost R180 million, to be built along the section of the N2 around the airport.
While the road falls under national authority, the City has said it is stepping in because of the continued danger faced by motorists.
Freedom Front Plus councillor Emre Uygun said incidents like the one involving Kassen and her son underline the urgency of permanent solutions.
‘Despite issuing monthly press releases highlighting the danger, attacks are ongoing,’ he stated.
The party has argued that while a wall may help, it should be accompanied by visible policing, repaired fencing, working CCTV cameras and permanent armed patrols at known hotspots.
Uygun also urged victims to report incidents immediately, noting that cases can be opened at any police station and later transferred.
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