Bail for taxi man in rank assault
A TAXI driver assistant was granted free bail after allegedly assaulting a taxi rank master with a hockey stick.
A fight broke out at the Pniel Road taxi rank last week, with passengers running in fear of being targeted in the process.
The accused, Leonard Mapogo Macoby, 22, was detained and released on charges of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (Assault GBH).
He is an assistant in a taxi that serves the Ritchie-kimberley route.
Taxi rank master, Edwin Mosikari, was taken to the Kimberley Hospital where he was treated for an injury to his arm.
Police spokeswoman, Captain Cherelle Ehlers, said that Macoby, from Ritchie, appeared in the Kimberley Magistrates’ Court. “He was released on his own recognisance and will appear in court again on February 7.”
Taxi drivers and passengers stated that the taxi driver assistant, also known as “Mapogo”, was allegedly notorious for driving without a driver’s licence, insulting passengers and the use of foul language.
“We are scared that we will die on this route,” some of the commuters told the DFA.
The fight apparently broke out following an argument over passengers who were boarding the taxi as well as the collection of taxi fares to the value of R30.
A taxi driver saw the scuffle and ran to the scene to intervene. According to the driver, Macoby and Mosikari were involved in a scuffle which was witnessed by the commuters.
Another taxi driver, employed by the Long Distance Taxi Association, Ronnie Mokgoro, called the police when the two men started assaulting each other with a hockey stick.
“I told him (Macoby) that we do not want violence in this industry and that no fighting should take place in front of our customers because they will not come back. We also advised him not to drive the taxi if he does not possess a driver’s licence.”
The secretary of the Ritchie Taxi Association, Able van Wyk, stated that Macoby was back on his route after his release.
“The fight started over a misunderstanding over the collection of money.”
Macoby stated that he was falsely charged and pointed out that it would be up to the court to prove that he was guilty of assault.
He complained that during the time of his detention, he had lost out on three days of pay and that he had to feed three mouths.