Both matric examination facilitators, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) and the Independent Examination Board (IEB) have distanced themselves from the exam material that was stolen during the alleged hijacking of a courier vehicle in Roodepoort.
The DHL courier vehicle was recovered in Wilgeheuwel during the afternoon of Wednesday, 18 September with damage to its rear window.
Read the initial article here:
https://roodepoortnorthsider.co.za/305049/just-in-national-exam-papers-stolen-during-hijacking/
In a BCI Security Facebook post, the company stated that while on a routine patrol, their officers discovered the DHL vehicle with its rear window kicked out from the inside.
“On closer investigation, the driver was found unharmed. According to the driver, he was hijacked by two men in a white VW Polo who stole boxes full of national exam papers,” the post read.
The incident was confirmed by Honeydew Police spokesperson Captain Balan Muthan, who said that the driver was accosted by three men. One of the armed assailants forced the victim to comply before driving off with the vehicle. He also confirmed that after the van had been recovered by the Flying Squad, it was found that the matric exam papers it was transporting, had been stolen.
The Northsider approached both the GDE and IEB to ascertain whether they had lost any material; however, both entities denied any knowledge of the matter and the use of DHL as a service provider.
GDE spokesperson, Steve Mabona responded as follows: “This is to inform that GDE is not using DHL for deliveries of matric exam papers. Our delivery vehicles are always unmarked and well secured at all times”.
However, he mentioned that GDE had a delivery of material on 18 September, which coincided with the day of incident. “The last delivery which was undertaken by the Department was for preparatory exams which concluded on [18 September] with Tourism,” he said.
Anne Oberholzer, a representative of IEB, stated, “The IEB does not use DHL Couriers; therefore they would not have IEB material in their cargo. Furthermore there is no IEB material that is in the process of being transported anywhere at the moment. This is not IEB material”.
DHL also weighed in to clarify the allegation. In a statement, the spokesperson and Managing Director of DHL Express South Africa, Jed Michaletos, said: “DHL Express is aware of the report that a DHL van was hijacked in Wilgeheuwel. We would like to clarify that no national exam papers were stolen, as there were no such shipments in that vehicle. The driver is unharmed, and we are working closely with local authorities on this incident.”
