Five arrested for deadly taxi violence

29 July 2015 - 16:07 By Ntwaagae Seleka

Five men linked to two recent shootings at a taxi rank in Tembisa‚ East Rand‚ which claimed the life of a woman‚ were arrested hardly a day after the shooting and are expected to appear in court soon. Four other people including two taxi marshals were shot and injured during the separate shootings that occurred almost at the same time and same spot on Monday and Tuesday morning. The 45-year-old woman was later identified as an employee of the National Prosecuting Authority in Pretoria.The mother of two was on her way to work when she was caught in the gun battle. She died near Mandla Dlamini's taxi that was loading passengers heading to Johannesburg at the time.Police spokesman Major Mack Mngomezulu said the five men aged between 26 and 41 were arrested on Tuesday night.“The suspects were arrested by a joint operation led by cluster detectives in various places in Tembisa. Two firearms were recovered during the arrest. The suspects are all linked to the separate shootings that took place at the taxi rank‚” he said.Taxi operators at the rank‚ claimed the gunmen were members of a taxi association operating at the rank.They said a group of gunmen in a taxi and sedan‚ accompanying a popular taxi owner‚ had arrived at the rank on both occasions and randomly opened fire.The fighting is believed to have been sparked by a feud between Tembisa Alexandra Taxi Association (Tata) and Midrand Taxi Association (Mita) fighting over two new routes.The chairperson of the regional taxi council‚ Mfaniseni Sidu said he had tried on numerous occasions to calm down the situation between the two rivals‚ but to no avail.The suspects are expected to appear in court on charges of murder and attempted murder...

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