Cape Town – A Khayelitsha taxi owner is the latest victim of suspected taxi-related violence after he was killed in a hail of bullets at the Site C taxi rank yesterday morning.
Fifty-two-year-old Goodman Lomboza was shot and killed and a woman injured in the shooting.
Lomboza was a member of the Congress for Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) on the Bellville route.
A resident near the taxi rank, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said she heard several shots being fired.
“I was preparing to go to work when I first heard the bullets, at first I thought it was lightning, but then (realised) it was the sound of bullets.
“At first I thought it was people shooting at each other, never could I ever imagine that all those bullets were being shot at one person, it was so many that I ended up losing count.
“It is disturbing, especially for us who live near taxi ranks, you never know when you might get hit by a stray bullet and die, it's becoming a norm and it’s traumatic.”
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said that the circumstances surrounding the shooting were being investigated by provincial detectives.
“According to information, a 52-year-old man was shot and fatally wounded while a 38-year-old woman was wounded. Cases of murder and attempted murder were opened and police detectives are pursuing the suspects.”
Codeta spokesperson Andile Khayi said that he was shocked that another member was murdered in a cruel manner.
“We don’t know what might have led to this because just last week another owner on the same route was killed and has not even been buried.
“We would like the department to intervene because we can’t be dying and nothing gets done. The police must bring the perpetrators to book because we are living in fear as we don’t know who is next. We strongly condemn this,” said Khanyi.
The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) condemned the attack and called on police to swiftly arrest those involved in the shooting.
“Santaco condemns these acts of violence in the taxi industry. We hope that the law enforcement agencies will find the perpetrators and bring them to book. It is unclear as to the reasons for (yesterday) mornings shootings, there is a possibility that it is not taxi related,” Santaco provincial spokesperson Gershon Geyer said.
The provincial department of transport and public works did not respond to questions at the time of publishing.