5 die as taxi violence flares
Four shot dead, crash victim dies
FOUR people were shot dead and a driver escaping from gunmen knocked a woman down, killing her, yesterday morning.
In the first incident, violence erupted at the Windmill Park, Boksburg, taxi rank at about 7am when four people were shot.
The spokesman for the Ekurhuleni Emergency Management Services, Willie Ntladi, said four men were hit several times in what was believed to have been taxi violence. They died at the scene. Ntladi said that during the shooting, a taxi driver tried to escape from the scene.
“As he was fleeing from the people who were shooting randomly, he lost control of the vehicle. His taxi veered off the road onto the pavement and bumped a woman waiting for a taxi.
“The taxi driver did not stop after hitting the woman,” Ntladi said.
The woman was badly injured and died on the way to the hospital.
Transport Minister Dipuo Peters has condemned the killing of the five in Boksburg.
Peters called on the police to spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to book.
“I have requested the leadership of the taxi industry to assist police in getting to the bottom of this unfortunate incident. Gov- ernment and the taxi industry have worked tirelessly to achieve lasting peace in this industry.
“We cannot allow a minority of criminal elements to take us backwards to an era that’s better left behind,” Peters said.
The latest National Household Travel Survey has shown that at least 67 percent of South Africans indicate that minibus taxis remained their preferred choice of transport.
The president of the SA National Taxi Council, Phillip Taaibosch, has assured Peters that the industry will work closely with law enforcement authorities to deal with the mat- ter conclusively.
He reiterated the industry’s commitment to continue to work with the government to ensure lasting peace.
Meanwhile, two men were killed on Wednesday night and six arrested during a shootout with the police in Thokoza, Ekurhuleni.
The police were following up information about a planned robbery at a shop and a butchery.
They followed the men suspected of plotting a robbery, who, once they realised they were being tailed, started shooting at the police in Khumalo Road.
The police returned fire, shooting dead two of the suspects.
One of the cars driven by the suspects, a Ford Fiesta, was reported hijacked in Jeppe.
Two other vehicles, a Honda Ballade and a Toyota Quantum, were recovered.
The police also recovered three pistols.