UPDATE: Call to name Pretoria street after slain taxi driver

The ANC wants to rename Dr Savage Road and the Savage taxi rank in Pretoria after Jabu Baloyi, the taxi driver who was shot and killed following a drug dispute in the city centre recently.

“We have taken a decision to honour Baloyi as a hero of our people,” said ANC regional secretary Eugene Modise.

The ANC in the greater Tshwane region said it would initiate a public participation process to consider a proposal for the council to rename the street and taxi rank in question.

Modise likened Baloyi to a martyr who was shot and killed [for] preventing alleged drug peddlers from selling drugs to school children in the city centre.

Baloyi was shot dead by a foreign national he had allegedly confronted for selling drugs at the Bloed Street taxi rank.

“The ANC has communicated its intention to Baloyi’s family. We will appreciate the support of Tshwane residents and interest groups in this regard,” Modise said.

READ MORE: Mayor lends hand to slain CBD taxi driver’s family

Baloyi’s killing in August sparked violence in the Pretoria CBD when his fellow taxi drivers allegedly went on a rampage.

The unrest resulted in the looting and burning down of businesses owned by foreign traders.

Last month, Baloyi’s widow Mpho Letsane told Rekord she and her family were struggling to cope without the breadwinner.

“My children might end up not going to school because I am the only one now and where I work is a temporary job.”

Letsane further described her husband as a caring man who loved his family.

“I knew him for more than 23 years,” the widow said.

READ MORE: LISTEN: Taxi operators, metro join hands to fight drugs scourge

The widowed woman’s pleas for assistance from the government were heard by Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa, who donated R100 000 to the bereaved family last month.

Upon donating the money, he also reiterated his commitment to providing security to residents of Tshwane and condemned the Baloy’s senseless killing.

“The city will continue to engage the family and help them navigate this sudden loss of life,” he said.

Family spokesperson Hlamanani Baloyi said the loss had devastated the family.

“We lost a very good person, a hard-working person.

“This commitment means Mokgalapa cares enough to invest in the future of this family,” he said.

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