Taxi driver shot in hijacking
Death highlights soft targets as crimes increase
The murder of a taxi driver during a hijacking has once again shone a light on the dangers faced by commuters and drivers in the volatile industry.
This comes after Canty Ngwenya, 35, was shot and killed by men pretending to be passengers. The men boarded the taxi and moments later hijacked it in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, on Friday evening.
His uncle and taxi owner Jabulani Ngwenya said the industry was being torn apart by the increasing number of hijackings.
He said despite finding his taxi, he had lost his nephew.
The murder comes a week after Gaddafi Netshivhali, a 22-year-old student, was shot and killed during a taxi hijacking in Dobsonville, Soweto.
“It’s a shocking and terrible thing to lose my nephew like this,” Ngwenya said.
“I was shocked when I learnt that he was hijacked. I was alerted by Tracker that someone was tampering with the vehicle’s battery. I called Canty but someone else picked up. I could hear Canty’s voice in the background. He sounded distressed. The phone was then switched off.
“A few hours later, the car was found in Meadowlands (Soweto) shortly after the tracking device was extracted but we didn’t know where Canty was,” Ngwenya said.
He said Canty’s body was found dumped in a veld near FNB Stadium on Saturday.
“These hijackings are tearing up families and the industry because criminals are taking away food from our tables. We are losing loved ones. We are still trying to make sense of what happened,” he said.
A police source close to the investigati on said two men in the guise of passengers stopped the taxi and shortly after they entered the vehicle, one of them pulled out a gun on the driver.
Upon seeing the gun, Canty apparently attempted to jump out of the moving vehicle. He was shot twice in the chest.
An accomplice of the two men allegedly boarded the taxi a few moments after Canty was shot.
Police spokesman Captain Xoli Mbele said they were investigating a case of murder and robbery, but were yet to make arrests.
Orange Farm United Taxi Association chairman Themba Kubheka said their hijacked taxis were often found in Meadowlands.
“It’s amazing that every time a taxi is hijacked or stolen it’s found in Meadowlands. We all know that Meadowlands had a problem with hijackings, but are the owners that side trying to replace their taxis by stealing our taxis?”
Taxi associations said they felt like soft targets as hijacks were on the increase.
‘ ‘ These hijackings are tearing up families and the industry