The latest car to mysteriously explode into flames in East London’s streets might not evoke a police investigation.
Scores of cars have been wrecked by a suspected serial arsonist since the late 1990s but in 19 years no one has ever been arrested.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku checked police records and could find no matter involving a car which suddenly went up in flames outside a home in Kitchener Street, Cambridge, East London.
The owner of the once-smart 2009 Volkswagen convertible, who said he was too depressed and shocked to give his name, said he was a provincial legal advisor and had seen no point in making a statement to police who were on the scene.
He said he had an argument with his insurance company after the car had been in an accident and so it was uninsured.
He estimated it was worth R80000.
He had decided to repair the suspension and some control arms at his own cost, but just hours before it was to be picked up by a mechanic yesterday, soon after 2am, it went up in flames.
He said the engine was in good condition but the car had not been in running order and its battery was flat.
His neighbour, engineering technician Nomasonu Mboleni, who lives directly opposite his home, said she woke up to the angry crackle of burning rubber and fuel. She called 112 on her cell, and was put through to the BCM fire department.
The fire department arrived and put out the blaze.
Mboleni and the car owner said they and the firefighters could find no sign of arson.
Top sleuth Christian Botha was brought into the investigation against East London’s serial car burner in 2013.
That same year police said 28 arson dockets existed, but at that time Dispatch readers said it was closer to 38.
In the last three years cars have continued to burst into flames every few months, and yet there is no camera footage of the arsonist.
In 2013, Cambridge Police Station spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said: “We have no new leads. The matter is under investigation.” — mikel@dispatch.co.za