Durban - A sombre but tense mood prevailed at the funeral service of five of the victims of a taxi feud killing in eZakheni, Ladysmith on Saturday amid fears of further revenge attacks.
Last week, in just 30 minutes 16 people were left dead in a string of shootings and a taxi crash after the driver tried to avoid the mayhem.
Buried on Saturday were Sihle Osborne Mathebula, Lindo-kuhle Makhekhe Mlambo, 28, Muzi “Stability” Dlamini, 43, Anna Mazibuko Dlamini, 56, and Ntombifuthi Ximba, 40.
At the funeral service, family and friends said while they trusted the police, it was becoming clear that the criminals killed the wrong people and would return.
“I do not know what will happen. I will not rest even if the police arrest them. We have seen so many incidents of vengeance in the past,” said a person grieving for Mlambo who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals.
Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu has vowed to leave no stone unturned in the effort to root out rogue elements that exist in the taxi industry.
Mchunu urged residents to report such elements in their communities.
“They know who these people are and where they live. Mobilising the community will add to our resources. We will deploy more police units to deal with the rogue elements and step up arrest efforts.”
Mchunu said he would ask for more resources from the minister of police to ensure the SAPS got to the bottom of the incident and Ladysmith residents were safe.
Mchunu said he understood there was conflict between two families who belonged to the Kliprivier Taxi Association.
However, the dispute was not confined to the area. The feud had started in Gauteng where there were disputes over Orange Farm-Joburg-Pretoria routes.
When a Gauteng-registered Mercedes-Benz C-class car, occupied by five women, was spotted in eZakheni’s Pieters Street, hitmen targeted it in the belief that it belonged to one of the families.
When it was finally cornered, the hitmen shot at it and left one woman dead and four injured.
The driver of a taxi, approaching the scene, tried to dodge the bullets and lost control of the vehicle, crashing into a stationary truck. Nine people died as a result.
In a shooting at another section of the township, believed to have been in revenge, five people were killed in another apparent case of mistaken identity.
“Revenge will not help anyone; it will just perpetuate the violence,” said Mchunu.
He gave the assurance that the government was on top of the matter and police were working around the clock to solve the murders.
KwaZulu-Natal Taxi Council chairman Boy Zondi also condemned the incident. Speaking at the funeral, Zondi revealed the crash vehicle had been a pirate taxi not registered with the local association.
“This is part of the rot that has stained our industry. The taxi did not belong to the Kliprivier Taxi Association. It was operating illegally, and this resulted in the death of innocent people.
“I urge residents to help us fight these and to assist with our endeavour to regulate the industry and make it safer,” said Zondi.
He said they usually helped grieving families when the taxi was a member of the association, but they could not even trace the owner.
Mchunu was expected to meet the two feuding families along with police management, the local mayor and amakhosi in Ladysmith on Sunday.
Sunday Tribune