Mall of Africa route dispute blamed for brutal taxi slayings

The recent spate of taxi killings‚ which have claimed 15 lives in two weeks‚ are believed to be revenge attacks following a dispute over the Mall of Africa route.

On Monday‚ a taxi boss belonging to the Alexandra‚ Randburg‚ Midrand and Sandton Taxi Association (Armsta) was shot dead while driving out of a relative's house in a marked association vehicle.

His murder came shortly after the massacre of 11 people linked to the Ivory Park Taxi Association on Saturday near Colenso in KwaZulu-Natal.

The group travelling in a minibus were returning from the burial of the association's member‚ Nkosi Mthembu‚ in Greytown.

A police insider‚ who spoke on condition of anonymity‚ said they suspected that the recent killings were revenge attacks due to conflicts over the lucrative Mall of Africa route.

"The truce came at a price after more than 10 taxi operators and innocent commuters were killed around Midrand. We suspect the recent killings are revenge attacks because we are not aware of any ongoing taxi route disputes‚" said the source.

Another source‚ a taxi operator who also spoke on condition of anonymity‚ confirmed that the attack on their members in Ivory Park was related to taxi route conflicts around Midrand.

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