Cape Town – Three vehicles were set on fire and four others were damaged during an alleged attack on e-hailing vehicles by minibus taxi operators at Maponya Mall in Soweto on Thursday.
Three individuals were taken to the hospital, with one of them reportedly injured in a shooting believed to be carried out by minibus taxi drivers, Times Live reported.
The Gauteng transport and logistics department said that the incident occurred following a confrontation between minibus taxi drivers and e-hailing drivers.
Two of the burnt vehicles were owned by an e-hailing operator, while the third belonged to a private individual.
?CRIME – Uber / Bolt Drivers and Cars under attack at Maponya Mall Soweto.
Taxi drivers allegedly vandalized Uber/Bolt vehicles with the intention of burning them. #TaxiViolence pic.twitter.com/YUVqyV5Vr6
— ??? ????????? ??? (@Takatso_Moloi) June 1, 2023
Transport and logistics MEC, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, condemned the attacks and called for law enforcement officials to apprehend those responsible.
Following the incident, the Soweto United E-hailing Association said the taxi industry in Gauteng was preventing them from earning a living.
Treasurer of the association, Senzo Mlambo said Uber drivers were now fearing for their lives.
“To tell you the truth, it is very bad. It is not something that started yesterday. It’s going on for long, including the crime we have in SA. At the end of the day, we wake up early and try to make sure that we do something. We help people with transportation. We need to feed our families and then you have someone that will sabotage you like that. You end up going home with nothing. They might kill you and you don’t make it home. Even us we are trying to a little,” SABC quoted Mlambo as saying.
What triggered this brutal attack carried out by the Soweto taxi drivers, setting fire to Uber and Bolt e-hailing vehicles? This behaviour exhibited by our taxi drivers is completely unacceptable and demands immediate attention from the taxi associations. #PhalaPhalaFarmGate pic.twitter.com/hkrlB0HTeR
— Dumelang News (@DumelangNews) June 2, 2023
WATCH | Taxi drivers kill Uber driver and torch cars at Maponya Mall
A night of terror unfolded at Maponya Mall in Soweto on Thursday, 1 June, as taxi drivers allegedly attacked and killed an Uber driver and set fire to several e-hailing vehicles. The incident sparked outrage… pic.twitter.com/uRI3mzVYYt
— Mamelodi Beacon (@MamelodiBeacon) June 2, 2023
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
