Hijackers terrorise taxi commuters
Robbers pose as passengers, then pounce on drivers and customers Soweto man killed in latest incident
Soweto taxi drivers have become soft targets for criminals in the township who hijack taxis and rob passengers of their valuables.
In the latest incident, a 22year-old student was shot dead during a botched taxi hijacking in Dobsonville on Thursday. Gaddafi Netshivhali was killed after he boarded a taxi to South West Gauteng College in Dobsonville when two assailants boarded the taxi.
One of the suspects pulled out a gun on the taxi driver, Netshivhali and another passenger before robbing them.
Netshivhali’s stepmother, Francina Phosa, told Sowetan yesterday that they were left gobsmacked by his death.
“He was shot because he panicked when those two men pulled out a gun.
“He probably was not expecting that to happen and he screamed, that’s when he was shot,” Phosa said.
He was shot on the left side of his torso and the bullet exited through the right side, she said, adding that the taxi was later abandoned at a garage.
Siyabonga Mazele, 29, a taxi driver on the Bara-Naledi route, was hijacked in May by two men pretending to be passengers.
Another driver on the same route, Lindokuhle Zondi, said: “They stopped me in March when I had less than five passengers. They both had firearms. One controlled the passengers and the other one pointed the gun at my head.
“They shot one of the passengers but he didn’t die. Then they left us at Bram Meadowlands,” he said.
Both drivers said the incidents had left them traumatised and fearing for their lives. “I haven’t driven a taxi since that night,” said Zondi.
Nhlanhla Mdlalose, a Soweto Taxi Association Services operation officer, said the incident that claimed the life of Netshivhali was one of many that Soweto taxi associations were dealing with in recent months.
“In most of the cases, the only reason why we find the drivers is because of the tracking devices; these boys leave the tracking devices either with the drivers or nearby. Sometimes we find that they have been killed or have been tied up and left in a veld,” Mdlalose said.
“We have taken responsibility for these hijackings and robberies, especially after women were raped by men driving a Quantum. We conduct stop and searches on our routes to make sure passengers are not armed,” he said.
Thabo Dube, a taxi driver from the Dobsonville, Roodepoort, Leratong, and Johannesburg Taxi Association, said taxis on this route also experienced similar incidents.
He said most cases were reported between June and July. “People come into taxis as passengers, then the next thing there’s a gun behind your head, and you’re being hijacked,” said Dube.
“Taxi owners decided that we need to start protecting ourselves while making sure that passengers are safe.
“Every time a taxi is taken, someone loses their income or their life.”
Police spokesman Captain Kay Makhubele said they were investigating a case of murder, but are yet to make arrests.
He said this was not an isolated incident, as many taxis are hijacked and passengers robbed.
“We do not separate taxi hijackings from any other hijackings, they fall in the same category, but as police we urge drivers and passengers to be vigilant on the roads to avoid being victims of criminal activities such as these,” Makhubele said.