A feud over routes sparked a shooting in which two taxi drivers were injured at a Randburg taxi rank.
According to John Mulaudzi, a member of the Randburg United Local and Long Distance Taxi Association (Rulldta), pandemonium broke out when the shooting started at the rank around lunchtime on Wednesday.
He said a taxi driver, from an illegal taxi association which has been embroiled in a dispute with Rulldta over the Diepsloot/Randburg route, had arrived at the rank and "opened fire at random" at his colleagues.
Apparently there had been arguments between the rival groups at the rank earlier in the day.
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| 'drivers from another association apparently shot this taxi boss' |
Mulaudzi said the two injured men were taken to hospital. Their condition could not be established on Wednesday.
Johannesburg police spokesperson Superintendent Chris Wilken said: "When police arrived at the scene, the two drivers had either been taken to hospital or had disappeared. We got this information from people at the rank, so police are still investigating."
Wilken also said the drivers were from rival taxi organisations.
Mulaudzi claimed that eight men wielding guns had arrived at the rank in the morning and forced passengers into their taxis. He said the Rulldta members did not argue but left the gang to load their taxis.
"We did not want to argue with them because we did not want to fight. We immediately phoned 10-111," Mulaudzi said.
He claimed that the illegal association, which he identified as "Diepnooit" did not have a permit, but had wanted to take over their route.
The Star could not trace the "Diepnooit" association as they were not listed.
Meanwhile, Kenneth O'Connor, a paramedic at Netcare 911, said he arrived on the scene shortly after the incident occurred, around 2.15pm.
"A man was shot in the abdomen and is in a serious condition. He is apparently one of the taxi bosses from the Diepsloot Taxi Association.
"The story is that there were a few people injured in the shootout, but they were taken away in private cars. What we heard is that drivers from another association apparently shot this taxi boss," he said.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on June 30, 2005
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