A photograph of the white Isuzu bakkie with Eastern Cape registration plates caused outrage when it was shared on social media on Thursday morning.
The picture of Linda Senekal, 27, of Zuurfontein, was taken on Tuesday. She caught a lift with Cradock farmer Johan Erasmus, 41, who admitted to driving the bakkie.
Speaking to HeraldLIVE just hours after the social media storm, Senekal – who is four months pregnant – said she needed a lift to a nearby clinic and asked Erasmus to drive her there.
“I didn’t want to sit in the front of the bakkie because it was hot. I also didn’t want to get hurt so I sat in the cage rather than anywhere else.”
Senekal said it was normal for people getting a lift to sit in the back of the bakkie.
“Everyone who hitches a ride usually sits on the back … so it didn’t seem strange to also sit in the cage,” she said.
Earlier, Erasmus said he did not understand what he did wrong.
