EMM condemns taxi killings
"We call for calm. Those who are in disagreement must sit down and engage with one another by means of dialogue, without the use of firearms and violence."
Since taxi associations signed an operational agreement on August 13 in Tembisa, two taxi bosses have been shot and killed in one week.
The agreement was tabled and signed following the death of 45-year-old passenger, Ms Jabulile Cynthia Mahlangu, who was shot and killed at the Esangweni Taxi Rank while on her way to work on July 28.
A taxi owner was then gunned down at the Esangweni Taxi Rank in Tembisa on September 2, followed by the death of Joburg Taxi Association chairman, Mr Mr Shadrack Sidu.
Mr Sidu was shot and killed on September 4 in Phomolong, after taking his seven-year-old son to school. He was gunned down approximately 500 metres away from the school.
“The operational agreement entails that both the Tembisa Alexandra Taxi Association (TATA) and the Midrand Taxi Association (MIDTA) pledge to work together peacefully, as both are entitled to operate the same route, as per the legal permission granted through registration with the Department of Transport,” said the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s (EMM) spokesperson, Mr Themba Gadebe.
When asked why deaths are still occurring in the Tembisa area, he said the EMM condemns the killings and that the law must be allowed to take its cause. He said justice would eventually be served.
“We call for calm. Those who are in disagreement must sit down and engage with one another by means of dialogue, without the use of firearms and violence,” said Mr Gadebe.
