Three more killed in Joburg taxi violence

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Published Jun 2, 2016

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Johannesburg - Three taxi-related shootings in the past 24 hours have left two taxi drivers and a taxi boss dead.

They are part of a series of taxi-related violence over the past month that has left five dead and 11 injured, with eight of the injured apparently uninvolved bystanders or motorists.

On Wednesday night in the latest shooting, the vice-president of the Alexandra Taxi Association was killed in a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Marlboro Drive and South Road in Sandton.

“The taxi boss, who was in a Toyota SUV, then veered into oncoming traffic and collided into two vehicles head-on,” said Emer-G-Med spokesman Maxwell Cohen.

He said that on arrival paramedics found that the taxi owner had succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead on the scene.

“Five other people sustained minor to moderate injuries,” he said.

Gauteng Police spokesman Lieutenant Kay Makhubela said the police launched a manhunt for two suspects who were driving a black BMW and opened fire on the taxi boss.

“The motive of the shooting is unknown at the moment but there is a possibility that the killing might be related to the taxi violence in Alexandra,” he said. Makhubela said no suspects had been arrested.

Two more taxi operators were also killed in Alexandra on Wednesday night but police were unable to provide further details on the matter.

According to Joburg metro police department (JMPD) spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane, one of the operators was killed in a Siyaya taxi with the other being murdered in a Volvo.

Both were killed in drive-by shootings.

On Tuesday, a 67-year-old taxi boss was shot and killed outside his home in Moroko North, Soweto. He had just bought a new Toyota Avanza and was pulling out of his driveway at about 5am when he was gunned down.

Police, who have not yet revealed the man's identity, said no arrests had been made.

On Monday, two bystanders were injured in Katlehong after two rival taxi drivers got into a fight over routes and opened fire at each other. Captain Mega Ndobe said the drivers, aged 52 and 55, were arrested and charged with attempted murder.

Earlier this month Ivory Park Taxi Association chairman Dumisani Mlambo, 50, was shot in Tembisa. He sustained bullet wounds to the stomach, hands and head, and a broken leg.

On May 12, a taxi driver was beaten with bricks by two assailants at the Noord Taxi Rank. At the time police said the attack was over routes to the Mall of Africa.

On May 4, a taxi-related shoot-out at the newly opened mall in Midrand left two taxi bosses and a bystander wounded. The dispute was allegedly between the Ivory Park Taxi Association and the Alexandra Taxi Association over routes to the area.

Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters has condemned the rising number of taxi shootings, which are allegedly related to fighting over routes to the Mall of Africa.

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The Star

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