A registered Uber and Taxify driver, Ruben Groenewald, has told the Advertiser that he was nearly assaulted twice in the first week of January by metered taxi drivers at the East Rand Mall.
The incident follows the recent case in which a Sunward Park man is accused of brutally stabbing a female Uber driver and trying to drive over her with her own car on December 26, last year.
His court appearance drew a large crowd comprising members of the media and supporters of an advocacy group, to the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on January 24.
According to Groenewald, the metered taxi drivers threatened to burn his vehicle if he came back to pick people up.
“They told me to never come back. This was inside the parking area of the mall,” said Groenewald.
“I went to the Boksburg North Police Station and they said they can’t help me. This is unacceptable. I’m disgusted in the way the police have handled my situation – I could have died.”
According to Boksburg North SAPS spokesperson Capt Juanita Coetzer similar incidents have been reported to the police and these received the necessary attention.
“Incidents like these, when reported to us, are investigated. Our station commander, Col Khumbilani Mbatha, invites the complainant, in this case, to come and see him personally so that he can address the complainant’s concerns,” said Coetzer.
- The Advertiser is aware of another incident that happened on Tuesday, last week, in which a Uber driver was stabbed more than 20 times. It is understood the victim, who now is recovering in hospital, picked up his attackers in Boksburg East. The attack apparently occurred in the Germiston area, where the driver’s vehicle was torched. The Advertiser is investigating.
