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MSF responds to meat truck looting incident in KwaZulu-Natal allegedly implicating a staff member

UPDATE: 6 March 2023

On 19 January 2023, on the R66 road in the King Cetshwayo District in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Province, a refrigerated truck transporting meat was looted near Ndundulu. An on-duty MSF staff member driving a marked vehicle was delivering medical supplies in the area at the time of the incident – MSF has been managing HIV and TB projects in the district since 2011.

Video footage circulated online on social media showing the MSF driver and the MSF vehicle at the scene of the looting. The driver reported the incident to MSF managers in Eshowe, and MSF was in contact with both the affected company and South African Police Services.

On 31 January 2023, the MSF driver appeared in the Melmoth Magistrates Court, facing criminal charges following his arrest. It is expected that he and other suspects will appear in court again on 6 March as the criminal matter proceeds. No charges were brought against MSF.

MSF takes the charges against its previous employee very seriously and will continue to collaborate with the ongoing police investigations. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour, and any violation of these standards is unacceptable to MSF.

On 4 February 2023, the driver tendered a resignation which MSF accepted during the course of an internal disciplinary process.

Since he is no longer an MSF employee, MSF will not provide further public updates.

19 January 2023

ESHOWE – Doctors Without Borders (MSF) expresses its deep concern at the looting incident in KwaZulu-Natal in recent days where an MSF staff member, employed as a driver, was allegedly implicated. MSF has been cooperating fully with the South African Police Services (SAPS) and legal authorities to clarify the events in the interest of transparency and accountability.

On 19 January 2023, on the R66 road in King Cetshwayo District in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Province, a refrigerated truck transporting meat was looted near Ndundulu. An on-duty MSF staff member driving a marked vehicle was delivering medical supplies in the area at the time of the incident – MSF has been managing HIV and TB projects in the district since 2011.

The MSF (Doctors Without Borders) driver has reported the incident to MSF managers in Eshowe, who are in turn fully cooperating with the owners of the meat truck and SAPS.

In mobile phone video footage circulating on social media, filmed at the scene of the incident, people are seen taking pieces of meat from the meat truck; an MSF pickup is visible among several vehicles parked nearby, with meat in lying in the open load bed. The person taking the video accuses the MSF (Doctors Without Borders) driver seated in the vehicle of participating in the looting, which the staff member then audibly denies. MSF’s preliminary investigations reveal that the meat was put in the back of MSF pickup and that the alleged looters attempted to pressure the MSF driver into assisting them, which the staff member refused to do.

A police investigation is currently ongoing, and the MSF (Doctors Without Borders) staff member is expected to appear in the Melmoth Magistrates Court, shortly. Pending the outcome of the legal proceedings, MSF will follow internal processes in accordance with South African labour law.

MSF takes the allegations very seriously and will continue to collaborate with ongoing investigation to determine the facts of the incident. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour and any violation of these standards is for us unacceptable Philip Aruna, MSF Regional Operational Support Manager in Southern Africa

“We are very concerned at this incident and the impact it has on our relationships with the communities we serve in KwaZulu Natal and our many thousands of supporters in South Africa and beyond. As we work diligently to get to the bottom of this incident and its consequences, we remain committed to being fully transparent and accountable to our patients, donors and authorities,” says Philip Aruna, MSF Regional Operational Support Manager in Southern Africa.