Men ambushed in Ezakheni linked to taxi war?

MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison Mxolisi Kauda called for an urgent meeting to take place today (October 12) after three people were ambushed and slaughtered on Monday night in what is believed to be ongoing faction fighting.

Details of the meeting are sketchy at the moment, but police and other role players will be present in an attempt to bring peace to the area.

The three men killed on Monday night were in a homestead when a large, heavily-armed group of men burst in and opened fire on them, killing them instantly. The deceased are believed to be linked to a taxi conflict involving two clans, namely the Gamede and Mabaso clans.

The ambush and murder of another person on Sunday night at the intersection of Fairclough Road and Ben Schoeman Street is also believed to be linked to taxi violence.

In October 2014, the two clans were involved in what came to be known as the ‘October Massacre‘. A Mercedes Benz was wrongly targeted on the Colenso / Pieters road, with assassins killing two women in the car. A motor vehicle accident ensued as a taxi attempted to avoid the gunfire. There were fatalities in the crash. The gunmen then went to Ezakheni, where people were gunned down at a car wash.

A crack team of detectives, made up of the Hawks and National Intervention Unit (NIU), was deployed in the area and made a breakthrough which resulted in the arrest of alleged hit-man Themba Raphael Mvelase in November 2014. The case is still in court. There have been a number of arrests since, with suspects linked to various murders in the ongoing taxi violence.

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