Details about Mr D driver fight video

Takealot’s Mr D has provided more details on a viral video doing the rounds on social media showing a violent altercation between a few of its delivery drivers and unknown private individuals.

The video shows a car driver and his passenger standing against their red vehicle, surrounded by several Mr D contractor drivers.

One of the drivers jumps over an individual attempting to de-escalate the altercation and manages to punch one of the drivers in the face twice.

The punching driver then moves around the main group before slapping the private vehicle driver in the face while another driver holds him around the neck.

After a while, one of the intervening parties helps the vehicle driver back to his car, after which the video appears to show some of the motorcycles in front of his vehicle.

It is important to emphasise that the video provides no context as to what preceded the incident or evoked the response from the motorcycle drivers.

MyBroadband asked one of the posters of the video on Facebook, who seemed to have witnessed the incident first-hand, for more details. They had not provided feedback by the time of publication.

Mr D told MyBroadband the incident was concerning and that it immediately initiated an urgent investigation with the franchisee responsible for its drivers in the area.

“The incident in the video occurred on Friday, 21 March 2025, in Pretoria during a funeral procession for a deceased independent contractor driver who tragically passed away following a motorcycle accident a few weeks earlier,” Takealot said.

“The procession was made up of fellow independent contractor drivers, escorted by law enforcement, while they were bidding farewell to their colleague, as is the norm in many parts of our country.”

Mr D said the car driver disrupted the convoy, resulting in a “minor accident” that caused the physical altercation.

The company said that the other independent contractor drivers at the scene tried to defuse the situation.

Contractor’s behaviour unacceptable regardless of circumstances

Despite the circumstances that led to the incident, Mr D said the conduct displayed by the independent contractor — presumably the one who had punched and slapped the car driver — was not congruent with its policies and procedures.

“While the situation was sombre and emotionally charged, there is no excuse for any of our partners to conduct themselves in the manner displayed in the video,” Mr D said.

“We have engaged the relevant franchisee to kick off internal processes to exact the appropriate disciplinary measures to the identified individual.”

“We are cognizant of the complex nature of this incident, isolated as it is.”

“Further details to the process are private and confidential, as per the provisions of our contracts with franchisees and independent contractor drivers.”

Mr D said it was committed to ensuring all partners on its platform upheld the highest standards of professionalism and conduct.

The incident comes amid increased calls in recent months from road safety and motorcycle experts for better vetting and training of contracted drivers performing e-commerce and on-demand deliveries.