Santaco weighs in after attempted hit on Tongaat taxi boss

The  South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) suspects people who were removed from a northern KwaZulu-Natal taxi association of being behind the attempted assassination of a taxi boss in Tongaat.

Five people were killed and at least two injured in three shooting incidents in Tongaat when a taxi association boss named only as KW Goge and his security entourage were attacked by unknown men on Thursday.

Goge and his driver escaped but three of his security personnel were killed in the incident, which police have confirmed as being linked to taxi violence.

KwaZulu-Natal Santaco spokesperson Sfiso Shangase told TimesLIVE that Goge had been elected as chai of the Siqalokuhle taxi association in the iLembe region almost a year ago and had made many changes to improve the previously troubled association.

Shangase said Goge was aware his efforts to improve the running of the association may have made some people angry and that Santaco suspected that some of them may have been behind the apparent hit although no arrests have been made yet.

“When he took over as chair of the association he removed some people who had not followed proper procedures to get in and that obviously attracted enemies for him. He knew his life was under threat, hence the guards. So far those are the people we can think of who might want to harm him but we want anyone who has information to submit it to the police,” said Shangase.

The Siqalokuhle taxi association has a history of taxi-related violence.

In 2018, its vice chair Nicholas Mkhize was gunned down while parked outside a Tongaat pharmacy, while another taxi boss, Bongani Mthembu, was shot in a drive-by shooting a year later.

However, Shangase said Goge and his leadership team had done well to bring about peace since taking over.

“Siqalokuhle taxi association was always known for violent instances but it had been in peace since the new leadership took over about a year ago. It was doing things by the book and everyone was happy, but of course there are people who thrive when there’s chaos,” he said.

Shangase said he had spoken to Goge on Friday morning and confirmed he was “doing OK” in an unnamed location after the incident, although he was still reeling from the deaths of his security personnel.

“I spoke to him this morning and he is obviously sad that he lost his brothers. When you have people whose job it is to protect you it is impossible not to form a deep, brotherly bond with them, so he is sad about those who lost their lives,” he said.

“Aside from that he is OK. He is sober-minded and from my interactions with him he seems normal, he is not too shaken by the incident.”

Shangase said Santaco would work with the police and families of the victims and urged anyone with information to contact the police.

TimesLIVE

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