Africa-Press – South-Africa. Five drivers have been shot and killed, and seven people injured, in the latest incident of suspected taxi violence in Johannesburg.
The five died in three separate shootings in Soweto and Faraday in the Johannesburg CBD on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Police are now investigating cases of murder and attempted murder.
It is alleged that the killings are connected to the rivalry between the Nancefield Dube West Taxi Association (Nanduwe) and the Witwatersrand African Taxi Owners Association (WATA) over routes.
On Thursday, Nanduwe secretary Ntobeko Mhlatane said the violence had been going on for a long time.
Ex-cop appears for alleged hospital killings
“The killing of our taxi drivers has been going on for a very long time. I would like to believe this is our seventh taxi driver shot in this year. We are fighting over routes,” he said.
“Just yesterday, one of our drivers picked up a passenger in Carolina, Orlando, and as they were about to drive off, a car appeared next to the taxi and started shooting.
“We are literally dying over our driving routes.”
News24 tried unsuccessfully contact the WATA spokesperson to comment on these allegations.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello said five people had been shot dead in the past two days. Sello said officers had attended a scene where two taxi marshals and one bystander were shot near the Nancefield hostel.
“All three victims were taken to a local hospital. Police are investigating a case of attempted murder,” she said.
She added that at 17:00 on the same day, gunmen had shot randomly at a taxi rank in Faraday in the Johannesburg CBD.
“Four people died and three were injured.”
In another incident on Tuesday, a 48-year-old taxi driver was shot dead and a passenger wounded on the Soweto Highway. Sello said no one had yet been arrested in any of the cases and investigations continued.
A member of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) who chose to remain anonymous said the rivalry and killings were concerning.
“We are worried about what is happening amongst taxi driver associates, because we don’t want this happening to anybody.”
Santaco public relations officer Sabata Mbobo said they has sat down with Nanduwe officials on Wednesday to work on a way forward, “and we plan on doing the same with WATA, hopefully today (Thursday)”.
“We are planning on sitting down with both associations to understand what is happening and how all the issues can be resolved,” Mbobo said.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
