‘Raped, robbed’ in Uber taxis

E-HAILING service Uber is facing a multimillion-rand lawsuit from passengers who claim they were raped, robbed and attacked in its cars. In papers filed in the high court sitting in Palm Ridge, Ekurhuleni, some of the victims claim that up to four men, including an Uber driver, went on a crime spree, targeting clients in the north of Johannesburg. Elias Mankgane, 26, and his co-accused, Daniel Maswikaneng, 23, Themba Mkuwanazi, 19, and Bonga Sikhosana, 26, are standing trial on three counts of rape, four of robbery, three of kidnapping and a count each of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, attempted rape and attempted murder. As the case is being heard, lawyers for the seven, who have accused the men of the crimes, are also drafting papers to sue Uber for damages. Yesterday, Ulrich Roux, who was representing two of the women in the case, said he was representing all seven victims in the civil matter. “We were just waiting for the criminal trial to start before finishing drafting the court papers. We will seek compensation from Uber for trauma, medical costs, future medical costs and future trauma. We are still finalising the quantifying of all of these.” Roux said they would file civil papers by next month. Uber said yesterday: “Our thoughts continue to be with the riders and their families. These incidents are deeply upsetting. As soon as these incidents were reported we reached out to local authorities and whatever information we could provide was handed over to the police and it was this close collaboration that led to the arrest of the suspect. “We have fully supported their investigations throughout and will continue to assist where needed. We have faith in South Africa’s legal system and that those responsible will be brought to justice.” The company said that after criminal activities were reported, they introduced a number of safety features, such as Real Time ID Check, Trusted Contacts, In-App Emergency Button and 24/7 phone support. “We’re committed to constantly working to raise the bar and improve safety in the communities we serve,” Uber said. | @TebogoMonama