Pretoria taxi driver killed in botched nyaope cleanup

A taxi driver was killed in a shooting and riot in Pretoria on Tuesday.

Tshwane transport MMC Sheila Senkubuge said in a statement that parts of the inner city came to a standstill as disgruntled protesters seized six vehicles on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Sowetan, people believed to be police officers were found by taxi operators to allegedly be involved in the selling of the drugs.

Shots were reportedly fired, resulting in the death of the taxi driver. Angry taxi operators then used the City’s buses to block traffic to “deal” with the nyaope (drug) boys.

“A shooting which resulted in the death of a taxi driver is reported to have incited the riots, which led to two A Re Yeng buses, three Tshwane Bus Service (TBS) buses, a Gautrain bus and two trucks being utilised to blockade the roads. A Re Yeng and TBS operations were halted for the rest of the day in the interest of safety,” Senkubuge said.

“A Re Yeng C3 and F5 feeder routes were among the affected public transport routes as riots unfolded in the vicinity of Bloed Mall. The affected streets include Sisulu, Boom, and Soutpansberg streets. At the time of this release, the buses and trucks were reported as not damaged.

“The taking of a human life is never justified and the perpetrators of this murder and unlawful usage of public transport vehicles must be made accountable for these crimes.”

The details of the deceased will be communicated after notification of the next of kin and through the police platforms.

Senkubuge apologised for the inconvenience caused by the disruptions to public transport within the CBD and urged commuters to avoid the CBD and take alternative routes and modes of transport.

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