Taxi driver living in fear after friend killed

Duo pepper sprayed before being stabbed

A metered taxi driver says he is living in fear after he watched his colleague and friend being stabbed to death, allegedly by another driver from a rival group in Pretoria.

Thabo Sikhosana, who was also injured during the incident, spoke to Sowetan yesterday after his friend Sello Mthekoana was buried at his home in Limpopo on Saturday.

“I’m not well. My colleague has passed and I don’t feel safe,” Sikhosana said. He said the incident happened last Friday when they were working in Pretoria central.

He said they had noticed a metered taxi driver who was operating illegally in the area.

Sikhosana said Mthekoana approached the driver and told him that he was not allowed to operate in the area without a permit.

He said the driver invited them into his car so that they could discuss the issue but he suddenly turned against them and refused to cooperate.

“He sprayed us with pepper spray and started stabbing us with a knife,” Sikhosana said.

He said he managed to get out of the car. “I went to call our colleagues for back up,” Sikhosana said.

He said the other drivers assisted transporting them to the hospital, but Mthekoana died shortly after their arrival there.

Sikhosana said the driver who allegedly attacked them was arrested and had also opened a counter case of hijacking against him.

“He claims that we were trying to hijack him but this is not true,” Sikhosana said. Mthekoana’s brother Peter Mthekoana said the family was still in shock following the incident.

“It is very difficult for us as a family to accept this. We were not expecting this,” Peter said.

He said Mthekoana, a father of three, had closed his fruit shop in 2015 and joined the taxi industry.

“He loved his children and did everything for them.

“It is going to be hard for his wife to raise those children on her own,” Mthekoana said.

The president of the Gauteng Meter Taxi Association, Vusi Chabalala, said yesterday that it had been experiencing problems with illegal operators in the area.

“There are people who are working without proper documentation. This is not good for business because we are fighting amongst ourselves. We are losing customers,” Chabalala said.

Police could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print.

‘‘ It is going to be hard for his wife to raise those children on her own