Pretoria – The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) in Tshwane has condemned the killing of taxi operators, especially those in leadership positions.
Spokesperson for the taxi council in Tshwane, McDonald Makata has called on policing authorities to investigate and harshly punish people who have been killing operators in Tshwane this year.
This comes after the chairperson of the Bazaar Taxi Association Stanley Thabede was shot and killed in Marabastad on Tuesday around 2pm.
Makata said the industry was calling on the police to seize the moment and arrest the suspects who shot the chairperson in an area that has CCTV cameras, which captured the shooting.
Police spokesperson Augustinah Selepe said the police had opened a case of murder after more than 12 shells were found at the scene of the incident.
She said a Toyota Etios sedan stopped next to the deceased’s car and two occupants wearing balaclavas jumped out, with a pistol and a rifle, while their driver remained in the car.
Selepe said the police had not yet established the motive for the shooting and the suspects remained unknown, but members of the public with information were encouraged to help bring the culprits to book.
The Tshwane taxi industry this year experienced numerous shootings that took the lives of a few operators, including two drivers who were also shot in Marabastad while sitting in a taxi before starting their morning shift.
Makata said the industry could not assign guilt to any suspects but once the police arrested suspects and the courts found them guilty, they'd be booted out of the taxi industry for bringing its reputation into disrepute.
He said no matter what caused the conflicts, the taxi industry did not condone violence because it served its passengers, who were the most important stakeholders, and persons found to be endangering the public and passengers did not have a place in the industry.
Pretoria News