Delta Bus Hijacking: Survivors Recall Terrifying Attack Which Left Two Dead, Including Young Mother

Survivors Recall Deadly Delta Bus Hijacking Between Johannesburg And Bulawayo

A routine cross-border journey turned into a nightmare of gunfire and grief for passengers on a Delta bus. Survivors are reliving the terrifying highway attack that left two people dead, including a mother travelling with her young daughters. The armed ambush occurred on Wednesday night, 8 October 2025, between Johannesburg and Bulawayo, leaving scores robbed, beaten, and emotionally scarred.

The harrowing incident unfolded near the fourth tollgate out of Johannesburg. According to survivor accounts, some of the attackers had initially boarded the bus posing as passengers. Hours into the journey, they unleashed a brutal and coordinated assault.

Tales Of Terror And Tragedy

The attackers were described as ruthless and well-armed. Their violence was indiscriminate, and their demands were simple: hand over all money and valuables.

Charmaine Linda Mbatha, one of the survivors, recounted her ordeal while seated at the Delta Bus offices in Bulawayo, her head still bandaged from her injuries.

She told The Chronicle:

“They were ruthless. They were armed with pistols and metal bars that looked like spanners. They beat people, shouting for us to hand over money and phones. Before taking my R20 000 (US$1 090) and my iPhone, one of them smashed the side of my head with his pistol.”

Her despair deepened as she remembered witnessing the killing of another passenger.

“That man never resisted. He trembled as he showed them his empty wallet. One of the robbers pushed him to the ground and shot him three times. He died right there.”

The victim was later identified as Judge Malamba Ncube. The second person killed was a woman travelling with her two daughters, one of whom lives with a disability. She was reportedly caught in the crossfire. Her children were later taken into the custody of the South African police.

A Co-Ordinated Assault And A Sombre Arrival

Another survivor, who requested anonymity, described the precision of the attackers.

“They struck with military-like co-ordination. After they fled with everything, the driver managed to get the bus to the next tollgate to alert the police.”

Emergency services responded quickly, transporting the deceased back to Johannesburg and taking the injured to hospital.

Delta Bus Company dispatched a replacement coach from Zimbabwe to collect the stranded travellers. The bus arrived in Bulawayo on Thursday night, 9 October 2025, shortly after 9PM. Relatives wept as they embraced survivors, while shocked onlookers watched in silence.

What should have been a simple homecoming was transformed into a sombre and painful event.

A Growing Trend Of Cross-Border Crime

The attack has reignited fears over rising crime targeting public transport on cross-border routes. Criminal syndicates operating between South Africa and Zimbabwe have become increasingly bold, frequently targeting buses and travellers carrying money.

Just last week, police in Norton gunned down four armed robbers, two of them South African nationals. The N1 corridor in Limpopo, where the Delta bus was ambushed, is already notorious as a high-risk zone.

This tragedy also mirrors a 2024 incident where two Zimbabwean women were shot and injured during a similar attack on a Johannesburg–Bulawayo bus. These repeated assaults have turned routine travel into a gamble, with passengers forced to risk not only their belongings but their lives.