Family 'speechless' after Taxify driver's death

The family of Siyabonga Langelihle Ngcobo hope things change for the better after their loved one became a victim of the war between metered-taxi and e-hailing drivers.

A social media movement meant to bring justice for Ngcobo and others has gained momentum on social media‚ following reports that the 21-year-old Taxify driver’s charred body was found in his burnt vehicle on Thursday in Sunnyside‚ Pretoria.

Ncgobo’s aunt‚ Nosipho Mathenjwa‚ said the family were left speechless by the awful death of their loved one.

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“We are thankful for the support. We have no energy to say much. We have hope that the war will be won so that what happened to my family does not happen again‚” Mathenjwa said.

In June 2017‚ at the peak of the attacks‚ an Uber driver died after sustaining severe wounds when his car was set alight‚ allegedly by meter-taxi driver in Pretoria.

E-hailing drivers have been complaining about a lack of protection from the police and the government.

Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Ismail Vadi said vandalising property and compromising the safety of e-hauling drivers and commuters is “barbaric”.

“People think they can do as they want. We are drawing a line on this particular issue. This investigation must be conducted fully‚” he said.

Vadi said that as local government‚ they are committed to finding the perpetrators and bringing them to book.

He added that “we don’t know‚ first of all who are the suspects. We can’t say for now it is somebody linked to the meter taxis”. However‚ if there is a link‚ his department would “shut down the whole operation of meter taxis. We can’t carry on like this”.

Vadi has called on both app-based transport service providers and meter-taxi drivers to apply for operating licences.

“I must say‚ there has been a slow uptake from meter-taxi drivers‚” he said.

Gauteng Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane said it is a “myth” that police are not making any arrests or following up on crimes against cab drivers.

She said they were shocked when they heard about the attack since they had “intensified security around hot spots”.

“We thought we are winning this war against these criminals. We thought it was stabilised‚ we thought it was safe.”