Commuters warned of taxi robberies
“Robbers would board taxis in the city centre. Along the way, they will produce firearms and rob everybody in the taxi, taking items such as cellphones, watches, money and even groceries.”
The Tshwane taxi industry warned residents to be careful after a string of robberies targeting unsuspecting commuters in the area.
Tshwane South African Taxi Council (Santaco) regional spokesperson Mack Makata said students and learners commuting via taxis have also been victims now that schools and universities have reopened after the December holidays.
“We had two recent incidents in Sunnyside and Lillian Ngoyi Street in the CBD,” he said.
“Robbers would board taxis in the city centre. Along the way, heading into the townships, they will produce firearms and rob everybody in the taxi, taking items such as cellphones, watches, money and even groceries.”
In December, taxi association patrol vehicles were deployed along with members, patrolling various areas in Tshwane trying to keep control of the crime situation.
He said this was aimed at keeping commuters safe, while the taxi industry was still in consultation with law enforcement.
“On Wednesday, we will meet with local law enforcement to discuss the logistics as to how to cooperate on tackling this problem.”
“Commuters must please consult with the taxi drivers to assist with transportation when registering for new courses.”
Makata said the industry was “sick and tired” of these robberies.
“This cannot continue to happen under our guard,” said Makata.
“We are pleading with commuters from townships or other provinces travelling to Tshwane to be extra cautious.”
In December, various taxi associations joined hands to raise awareness of the attacks on taxi drivers and commuters by what is believed to be organised syndicates.
Makata said they were concerned over the spree of robberies on the rise in Tshwane and even reaching areas of the West Rand.
He said the crimes were notably increasing.
“What is concerning is that these crimes occur at any time of the day, targeting drivers and commuters.”
He said last year a commuter was robbed of R25 000, while drivers also had their daily earnings robbed off them at gunpoint.
“We don’t know how they knew that a commuter had just withdrawn such a large sum of money.”
Makata said he also knew of a nurse who was robbed and killed while four taxi operators were also killed in Mamelodi.
“The number of robberies registered was over a hundred. These cases are spiralling as these crimes are becoming normal.”
Makata said the taxi industry had decided on a plan to curb the crimes by placing the taxi association monitoring units at hotspot areas to conduct stop-and-search operations.
“We managed to nab a few suspects recently who were handed over to the police.”
He warned these criminals to stay clear from the taxi industry otherwise “there would be trouble”.
Police were not available for comment at the time of going to print.
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