Cape Town – A witness of the murder of a taxi passenger has described it as “the most horrible incident I have ever witnessed in my life”.
Three unknown suspects on Wednesday pretended to be passengers in a taxi when they shot and killed another passenger and robbed him of a gun in Khayelitsha.
The witness, whose name is being withheld for her safety, said she was on her way to a nearby shop.
The taxi is believed to have been transporting passengers from Site C to Cape Town.
“Just after I crossed a main road, a taxi stopped and within a second I heard a gunshot coming from the taxi. I fell down because I was shocked and terrified. People were screaming and I was confused as to what was happening exactly.
’’Three men came out with guns, they were calm and collected. Just after they left the taxi, a lady in the taxi screamed and other people started coming out of the taxi.
“The victim fell on a passenger next to him. The passenger’s clothes were full of blood, she was in disbelief. This is the most horrible incident I have ever witnessed in my life.
“What puzzled me is that they just shot him, out of all passengers in the taxi.
“They took just a gun, they did not rob anyone's belongings,” she said.
Police spokesperson Andre Traut said the suspects were yet to be arrested.
“At around 3.10pm an unknown male passenger was shot and killed inside a taxi in Lansdowne Road in BT Block Khayelitsha by unknown suspects who fled on foot after the incident. The circumstances are being investigated,” said Traut.
The taxi is said to have had a Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) sticker on it.
Codeta spokesperson Andile Soyama condemned the shooting and has called on the swift arrest of perpetrators.
“I have never heard of a passenger shooting another passenger inside a taxi. This goes to show that no one is safe anywhere. As the association, we are working closely with the police to arrest the suspects.
’’They were seen by other passengers and they described what they were wearing and how they looked like.
“The driver is safe. The taxi had to turn back to the taxi rank because he can't drive a long distance after such an incident, and surely the seats had blood, so you cannot transport people while your seats have blood stains,” said Soyama.
Anyone with information can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.
Cape Times