The probe into the Eastern Cape’s bloody taxi war is gaining momentum, with several senior taxi bosses held by the police at the weekend. Two remain behind bars on allegations of murder.
Taxi industry leaders Simphiwe “Gabs” Mtshala, Zola Bishop Yolelo and Fuzile Teacher Mtshengele all confirmed they were taken in for questioning, allegedly in relation to taxi violence and extortion that have engulfed most parts of the province in recent months.
Yolelo and Mtshengele, together with a group of other close industry associates, were nabbed by members of the police’s special violent crimes task team while having lunch at a restaurant at the Mall of Africa in Midrand, Johannesburg, last Friday. Most were released hours later.
Meanwhile, Mtshala was summoned and held at the Fleet Street police station in East London last weekend, before being released without charge.
Mtshala and Yolelo were both provincial chairs of the two warring Santaco factions in the province, structures which have since been disbanded by the provincial government.
They have all confirmed their interaction with law enforcement agencies, including the national intervention unit, and being questioned about a number of taxi-related killings and extortion cases in the province.
Police confirmed four other people were taken in during the Midrand raid before they too were released.
National police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said the group was arrested for taxi-related murders from November 2023 and this August, in which two taxi owners, a taxi driver and a member of a taxi association were gunned down.
Mathe said four pistols and an AK47 assault rifle were seized from some of those arrested in Midrand. But one of those arrested, Sikhulule Mtyolwa, known as Skhura, chair of Uncedo in Dutywa, is still behind bars.
Police said Mtyolwa and Philani Thulebona Ngindi, Uncedo’s Butterworth chair, appeared in court in Gauteng before being transferred to the province to face double murder charges in Cathcart. They are set to apply for bail on Monday.
These developments come a few weeks after the provincial government ordered that the industry’s leadership structures be disbanded to quell violence.
A new provincial taxi leadership structure was appointed on Friday in a meeting in East London attended by transport and safety MEC Xolile Nqatha.
On Wednesday, Nqatha’s spokesperson, Makhaya Komisa, said the interim structure was established to prepare for the election of a new provincial structure. But soon after it was set up, members of the interim structure allegedly received threats, Nqatha revealed this week.
In a statement, the MEC said there were rogue “enemies of peace and progress” hell-bent on collapsing the new structure.
Santaco and Uncedo Service Taxi Association leaders Mtshengele and arch-rival Mtshala confirmed that police held them before releasing them without charge.
Mtshengele confirmed he was arrested with a Group of Eight others, including Yolelo and an unidentified woman, in Midrand.
A video showing Mtshengele, Yolelo and others being escorted from the Gauteng mall has been widely shared on social media.
Mtshengele said: “It was about 2pm on Friday when the police pounced. I thought those guys had come to assassinate us and said a short prayer. They ordered us to put our hands up and lie on the floor face down.”
Mtshengele said they were held for 16 hours. “They questioned me on the taxi violence in the Eastern Cape, murders and extortion. They asked me everything, but I told them I knew nothing and had never been involved in any taxi violence, extortion or any murders. They ended up releasing us.”
Mtshengele said while they felt humiliated about the video, they were not mistreated by the police. “The police were professional. They were doing their jobs.”
Referring to the confiscated AK47, Mtshengele said it was not with them when they were arrested. “This was found at the house of Skhura in Alexandra township. I believe it is licensed.”
Meanwhile, Mtshala said he was called by NIU members on Saturday.
“After we met, they escorted me to the Fleet Street police station. They said they were just asked to pick me up and that investigators would come and either arrest or question me.
“I was kept in a cell from 2pm on Saturday until 5pm on Sunday, and nobody came ... The NIU members present were continuously communicating with someone they said was a general from national. I was then released without being told why I’d been arrested. I am in the dark.”
Mtshala’s arrest was confirmed by provincial police who said he was released due to insufficient evidence.
While Mtshala said he was now seeking legal advice about his incarceration, Mtshengele said he had nothing against those who arrested him.
Mathe confirmed the two men still being held had appeared in the Alexandra magistrate’s court before being transferred to the Eastern Cape.
Police did not give details about the double murders.
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