11 Taxi Drivers Shot Dead By Gunmen In South Africa

11 Taxi Drivers Shot Dead By Gunmen In South Africa

Gunmen have shot dead 11 taxi drivers returning to Johannesburg from the funeral of a colleague in Kwa-Zulu Natal, a police spokesman said on Sunday, July 22.

Kwa-Zulu Natal Police spokesman Jay Naicker said today that the drivers were on their way home from the funeral of a colleague on Saturday evening when their vehicle was ambushed in KwaZulu-Natal province.

It was gathered that the drivers, who were members of the Gauteng taxi association, were in a minibus driving along the R74 when the unknown gunmen opened fire on them.

The eleven drivers died while four other people were critically injured in the attack. 

 “There was a shooting at about 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) last night. The vehicle was ambushed. There were 11 fatalities and four were seriously injured and are in hospital,” Naicker said.

“We understand they were from the Gauteng taxi association. There has been a lot of taxi violence in the area but we are still investigating who the perpetrators were.”

Rivalry between groups of minibus taxis over dominance on profitable routes sometimes spills over into deadly violence in South Africa. 

Ten people were killed in Cape Town during one weekend in May as a result of taxi violence, according to local media.