Two held over taxi killing
Two suspects aged 27 and 28 have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Winterveldt taxi driver.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Winterveldt taxi driver.
They were taken into custody on Thursday morning, said police spokesperson Constable Petunia Chabangu.
The 47-year-old taxi driver was shot dead on Monday night.
“He was on duty transporting passengers when he was murdered along Dr Marivate Road in Winterveldt,” said Chabangu.
This brings to three the number of taxi drivers killed in the area since the beginning of October.
A man from a local taxi organisation said drivers were scared to work after the string of fatal shootings.
Chabangu said the 47-year-old taxi driver had been identified as Modumaela Simon Thabo.
The arrested men, aged 27 and 28, were found to be in the possession of an unlicensed firearm, ammunition and a hijacked car.
Chabangu said after killing the taxi driver, the killers drove off in his car and later abandoned it.
“A community member tipped police that he had seen two men trying to sell the battery of a Condor vehicle. The police followed up and posed as potential customers.”
A week ago, a 29-year-old Soshanguve taxi driver was shot dead outside his block V home in Soshanguve.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Lolo Mangena said the driver was killed after midnight in an apparent confrontation with his former employer, a feared taxi boss.
“The victim had gun wounds in the back of his head. It was not clear how many times he had been shot,” said Mangena.
“He was certified dead upon arrival at the George Mukhari hospital.”
It is believed that the taxi driver had just changed employers to work for a boss also from Block V.
A witness told police the taxi boss had alleged the driver owed him R300.
When his former boss heard that the taxi driver was now working for a new boss, he started looking for him to demand his R300.
When he found him, an argument ensued and the taxi boss pulled out a gun and killed the driver.
The witness contacted the police, and the taxi boss was arrested.
He was expected to appear in the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder.
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