Johannesburg - Noord Street seems to have become Moord Street.
On Wednesday, a red and white police tape fluttered ominously in the early morning breeze at the Noord taxi rank, keeping a crowd of curious onlookers at bay.
Behind the tape, on the cold and wet concrete floor, lay the body of a 46-year-old man.
His feet poked out of the foil blanket placed over him, revealing black sneakers and bright red socks.
A trail of blood oozed from the fatal bullet wound to his chest.
The man has just become the latest statistic for the spate of killings at one of Joburg’s busiest corridors linking the Park Station transport hub.
The clock may have stopped just before 9am for the victim but all around him life continued as usual.
Hawkers went about their businesses amid the traffic of passers-by.
Taxi drivers continued to woo potential commuters to board their vehicles. Some turned their heads to see the body. None gasped in shock and horror. Neither did they slow down.
A police officer wearing gloves approached the body. Gingerly, he lifted the foil, exposing a gun on the victim's belt. The officer reached into the man’s pocket and removed a wallet, checking whether there was anything in it that could help identity the man.
Many said they didn’t know the deceased.
But a taxi driver said the dead man was also a taxi driver, working on the Pretoria-Joburg route.
“A shot rang out and there was chaos here,” the driver said. “Taxi drivers jumped out of their taxis and fled. Commuters who were already seated in the taxis also quickly got out of the taxis and ran.
“Immediately after that shot, another one was fired from the other side of the rank.”
Police officers, however, had difficulty getting co-operation from taxi drivers and taxi owners at the rank. They told the police that it was their first time they saw the man.
Warrant Officer Xoli Mbele said police believed the murder could have been related to taxi violence although information from people in the taxi industry suggested it wasn't.
“According to the information we received, about five to six men shot this man as he was walking. The taxi drivers said they do not know him or maybe they're just scared to come forward because they don't want to die,” he said.
Mbele confirmed that the man’s firearm was licensed. A young man pushing a trolley said shootings at the rank were commonplace. He said he was one of the seven people caught in a crossfire and shot last month.
“There was a fight over change and shots were fired. I was shot in the foot. Another lady was shot in the thigh,” he said.
Police are investigating a case of murder.
The Star
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