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A taxi alliance chairperson, Thamsanqa Moyo, was ambushed and killed earlier on Thursday in Soweto by an unknown number of assailants.
MaYcaL/iStock/Getty Images
- A taxi alliance chairperson was shot dead in Soweto on Thursday.
- It was not yet clear why gunmen opened fire on Thamsanqa Moyo.
- Moyo had navigated a longstanding, violent dispute over six contested routes between two rival taxi associations.
Gauteng National Taxi Alliance (NTA) chairperson Thamsanqa Moyo has been shot dead on the Soweto Highway.
NTA spokesperson Theo Malele on Thursday told News24 that Moyo was ambushed earlier in the day by an unknown number of assailants who opened fire on him.
“Details are still sketchy at the moment, and we do not know why this happened. All we can confirm is that our provincial chairperson was shot and killed,” said Malele.
Moyo had a turbulent tenure, navigating a longstanding and violent dispute over six contested routes between the Witwatersrand African Taxi Association (WATA) and the Nancefield Dube West Association (Nanduwe).
The two rival associations have been at loggerheads for years over which of them should operate on these routes.
The National Taxi Association (NTA), which is WATA’s mother body along with numerous other associations across the country, has long grappled with the fallout of this conflict.
READ | Route closures could last up to a year, Western Cape govt warns warring taxi bodies
According to Malele, more than 100 taxi operators have been killed in clashes between WATA and Nanduwe over the past decade.
The associations even took their battle to the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, which ultimately ruled in favour of Nanduwe, granting it the right to operate on the disputed routes.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said a manhunt had been launched for Moyo’s killers.
He said:
It is reported that the victim was driving at Soweto Highway in Diepkloof, Soweto, when he was blocked by suspects who were driving in two vehicles. The suspects fired several shots at the victim. He was certified dead at the scene.
Masondo said the motive behind the killing could not be confirmed, although it is suspected to be related to taxi conflicts.
He added that police were working closely with the Gauteng Department of Transport and other provincial departments to eradicate taxi violence.
“We also have a team that consists of various departments that has been put together to curb taxi violence. We have arrested suspects before in other taxi violence-related cases, although no arrests have been made in this recent murder,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information.
