Africa-Press – South-Africa. Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety in Johannesburg, Mgcini Tshwaku and MMC for Transport Kenny Kunene met with the South African Police Service, Soweto’s taxi association and e-hailing drivers this week following the Soweto protests.
Public safety spokesperson Lelethu Ndyamboti said Wednesday’s meeting was an effort to resolve the ongoing conflict between the taxi associations and e-hailing drivers following violence at Maponya Mall.
“A committee that consists of MMCs, taxi associations, e-hailing [drivers], and other stakeholders was established,” said Ndyamboti.
The committee concluded that:
News24 previously reported that armed men allegedly attacked e-hailing drivers in Soweto on 1 June.
The men shot and wounded a driver, torched three vehicles and damaged four others.
Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi alleged that taxi drivers attacked the e-hailing drivers.
“It is reported that on the evening of 1 June, the minibus taxi drivers attacked the alleged e-hailing drivers. Three vehicles were torched. The owners were assaulted. One of them was shot. All three victims were taken to a local hospital.”
Nevhuhulwi added:
Gauteng Transport and Logistics MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela said three people were rushed to the hospital following the incident.
One was injured after a shooting incident allegedly by minibus taxi drivers.
“We wish those injured a speedy recovery and call on law enforcement officials to work around the clock to apprehend those who were involved in these barbaric attacks,” said Diale-Tlabela.
News24 reported that the e-hailing platform Uber was shocked and saddened by the incident.
In a statement, Uber said: “This is something no one should ever go through. We take any incident of this nature very seriously, and our safety team is investigating these incidents urgently. We are in close contact with the police and stand ready to help law enforcement with their investigation.”
The company said it stood for safety and it took incidents of this nature very seriously, as they violated their community guidelines.
“We continuously work around the clock to improve safety on the platform, as safety never ends. We have launched several industry-leading safety features over the years, including features dedicated to the South African market.
“These include the in-app emergency button, which dispatches armed security to your location within minutes of an emergency. Other features include GPS tracking, Trusted Contacts, and Safety check-up,” Uber said.
In a separate incident in Soweto, a truck driver ran for his life when Diepkloof hostel residents looted and torched his truck on Monday.
News24 previously reported that Bukhanya Mditshwa was driving along the N1 Northbound and N12 East split, near the Diepkloof interchange, around 05:15 on Monday when he came under attack from protesters.
His truck was carrying cartons of fresh milk.
Hostel residents allegedly protested for service delivery issues that the government ignored.
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