Cape Town - A taxi owner has been shot and killed and a passenger injured during a shooting incident near the Kuwait long-distance taxi rank in Khayelitsha.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said circumstances surrounding the shooting incident in Site C are being investigated by the Provincial detectives.
Rwexana said according to information, a 52-year-old man (Goodman Lomboza) was shot and fatally wounded while a 38-year-old woman was wounded at Njongo Street, Site C near the garage.
"The wounded victim was transported to a medical facility. Cases of murder and attempted murder were opened and police and detectives are pursuing the suspects," she said.
Congress for Democratic Taxi Associations spokesperson Andile Khanyi said the association was grieving the loss of their member, Lomboza, who was killed at about 4.30am yesterday.
Khanyi said there were no clear details of what led to the shooting. He said Lomboza was a good and humble man, who never fought with anyone.
"As the association, we condemn these killings. What's even worse was that not so long ago another member was also shot and killed, for reasons unknown," he said.
SA National Taxi Council provincial spokesperson Gershon Geyer also condemned the acts of violence in the taxi industry.
"We hope that the law enforcement agencies will find the perpetrators and bring them to book. It’s unclear as to the reasons for the shootings, and there is a possibility that it’s not taxi related," said Geyer.
The recent incident comes two weeks after two men, one of whom was the president of the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association, Victor Wiwi, were shot dead and another man injured during a shooting at the Borcherds Quarry off-ramp near Nyanga.
Soon after the shooting, suspended Transport and Public Works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela held a meeting with the taxi industry, where he expressed his concerns with regard to the industry leadership’s inability to stop the senseless taxi killings which have claimed over 25 lives since the start of this year.
Cape Argus