A bloody flare-up in the long-running conflict between taxi and e-hailing drivers has left one man dead, a taxi torched, and Soweto residents openly demanding that the taxi industry be driven out of their community.
By Thursday midday, tensions remained dangerously high after a Toyota Quantum taxi was set alight, hours after a 35-year-old e-hailing driver was gunned down outside Maponya Mall on Wednesday night. His attackers set his car ablaze before fleeing.
Relatives described him as a “dedicated breadwinner and family man” who worked long hours to support his extended family.
According to police, the violence began just after 9pm when four armed men ambushed the driver as he waited to collect a passenger.
They fired multiple shots, then doused his vehicle with petrol and set it on fire. A second e-hailing driver parked nearby was attacked and wounded. A passer-by caught in the crossfire is recovering in hospital.
“A taxi was torched by unknown suspects at Pimville. No injuries reported and a case of malicious damage to property is opened for further investigations. The police units from SAPS, JMPD, National Traffic and Gauteng Traffic will continue to monitor the situation,” said SAPS Gauteng spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi.
Within hours of the killing, a source told African Times that about six e-hailing drivers allegedly set the taxi on fire in Pimville in retaliation. Forensic teams were dispatched to both scenes.
By 4am Thursday, residents had dragged rocks, concrete slabs, and debris onto Chris Hani Road, blocking the main route to the mall. Taxi operators were prevented from entering the premises, while the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) diverted private motorists and pedestrians.
“This is not just about e-hailing drivers; it’s about the safety of everyone who comes to this mall,” said community leader Mandla Ncube, speaking to the crowd through a loudhailer. “We protected this place during the 2021 July unrest. Now we are treated like we don’t matter. Enough is enough.”
Ncube accused mall management of ignoring repeated calls for better security at e-hailing pick-up points.
MEC for Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela addressed protesters, telling them government was engaging both taxi associations and e-hailing platforms. “The people of Soweto have a right to choose the mode of transport they want to use,” she said.
But residents shouted over her, chanting “The taxi industry must go” and demanding arrests.
Calls for a seven-day shutdown of the mall rang out, alongside demands that the Fidelity Security company be replaced by local firms.
One female e-hailing driver, a single mother, pleaded for peace: “There are no jobs in South Africa. We are making a living using e-hailing. Can we work in harmony? We all want to feed our families.”
Political parties seized on the violence to demand action. The DA’s Gauteng leader, Solly Msimanga, said: “Government has failed to regulate the taxi industry effectively. This is not just a transport issue; it’s a safety crisis. If the state cannot enforce the law, it must rethink the taxi industry’s place in our economy.”
The EFF’s provincial chairperson, Nkululeko Dunga, accused the taxi industry of “holding commuters hostage” and called for an immediate suspension of taxi operations around malls. ActionSA urged government to “level the playing field” for e-hailing drivers, many of whom are unemployed youth.
The South African Metered Taxi and E-Hailing Association (SAMTEA) Gauteng condemned the attack and called for calm. “We caution that actions by individual operators — legal or illegal — can distort public perceptions, unfairly painting the entire sector as criminal,” said chairperson Sibongiseni Shange.
SANTACO Gauteng extended condolences to the victim’s family but warned against jumping to conclusions. “We urge the public not to assume taxi industry involvement and to allow police investigations to proceed. We remain committed to peace and safety in transport,” it said.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa strongly condemned the killing, saying: “Such criminal behaviour has no place in the public transport sector, and those responsible must face the full might of the law.”
Creecy said government was working with the taxi industry to digitise operating licence systems to end route encroachment disputes — a leading cause of violence. The National Land Transport Amendment Act, signed into law in 2024, will for the first time regulate e-hailing services, with implementation expected once translation processes are completed.
A security analyst warned that without urgent intervention, the violence could spread beyond Soweto. “You need visible policing, enforced safe zones for pick-ups, and joint conflict resolution. Otherwise, this will move from isolated incidents to organised bloodshed.”
On social media, Soweto residents and e-hailing drivers shared photos of vandalised vehicles, warning that the latest killing was “not an isolated incident.” Some e-hailing operators vowed to defend themselves. “If it’s blood they want, then it’s blood they will get. We are tired of being intimidated,” said one driver.
By late Thursday afternoon, approximately 300 protesters remained at barricades under heavy police watch. Though the day remained largely peaceful, the anger in Soweto was palpable — and the demand from the streets was clear: the taxi industry must go.
