Western Cape cops vow to net gunmen behind fatal Mfuleni taxi rank mass shooting
CAPE TOWN - Western Cape police say they'll leave no stone unturned to bring to book gunmen responsible for the mass shooting at the Mfuleni taxi rank in Cape Town.
Four taxi operators were shot and killed, while two other taxi operators and a commuter were wounded in the attack.
Police believe two gunmen with high-calibre firearms opened fire at taxi operators sitting inside an office.
ALSO READ: Police offer R100k reward for info on deadly Mfuleni taxi rank shooting
Western Cape police suspect that a dispute over a taxi route between Mfuleni township and Somerset West, is the reason behind yesterday's deadly attack.
'Mainly our problem has been the taxi rank in Site C, and here we've been monitoring the routes as well as Somerset. However, when the matter is planned and takes place like this one in the early hours of the morning, unfortunately, we happened to miss this one," said Deputy Provincial Police Commissioner for Crime Detection, Major-General Bongani Maqashalala.
Police are offering a cash reward of R100,000 to anyone who can help detectives bring the suspects responsible for the shooting at the Mfuleni taxi rank to book.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape Government has condemned the deadly shooting at the Mfuleni minibus taxi rank.
Provincial Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku expressed shock over the senseless act.
"I am shocked and deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence. We cannot allow criminality to take hold of our public transport spaces and threaten the safety of innocent commuters and workers. I appeal to the community and the minibus taxi industry to stand united, remain calm, and fully support the police investigation. Those responsible must face the full consequences of the law."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
2 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Western Cape govt condemns deadly shooting at the Mfuleni taxi rank
CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape Government has condemned the deadly shooting at the Mfuleni minibus taxi rank in Cape Town. Four people were shot and killed while three others were wounded in Friday's attack. Police suspect tensions between taxi associations CATA and CODETA - over a taxi route between Mfuleni and Somerset West - might be behind the shooting. ALSO READ: Western Cape cops vow to net gunmen behind fatal Mfuleni taxi rank mass shooting Police offer R100k reward for info on deadly Mfuleni taxi rank shooting A cash reward of R100,000 is being offered to anyone who can help detectives bring to book the suspects responsible for the attack. "I am shocked and deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence. We cannot allow criminality to take hold of our public transport spaces and threaten the safety of innocent commuters and workers," said Provincial Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku. "I appeal to the community and the minibus taxi industry to stand united, remain calm, and fully support the police investigation. Those responsible must face the full consequences of the law."
eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
Prosecutors' pyrrhic victory with Joshlin still missing
CAPE TOWN - It's been just over a week since Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno Van Rhyn were sentenced to life behind bars for the kidnapping and trafficking of Joshlin Smith. The little girl was reported missing on 19 February last year. She has still not been found. This marked a test case in South Africa as the state had no victim to present to court. eNCA reporter Ayesha Ismail sat down with the two prosecutors who secured the three convictions. This as lawyers for some of those convicted, indicate they'll be appealing the sentence. Different criteria are used when deciding on allocating a specific case to a prosecutor. As the National Prosecuting Authorities head for trafficking in persons in the Western Cape, Advocate Zelda Swanepoel was the obvious choice for the Joshlin Smith case. Swanepoel needed a strong team to help her crack this case and included Advocate Heeramun during the trial. Swanepoel said, "H ow Advocate Heeramun became involved because at the time I was her advisor we are in the organised component of the DPPs office and it was the logical choice to include her as part of the team she has dealt with high profile cases in the past and I believed we could make a good team and we brought different virtues and capabilities to the team.' The two prosecutors understood the challenges of not having a victim to testify. Swanepoel explained, "It was the first time that we used trafficking in persons, where a child was sold and had not yet been recovered. There were three other previous reported cases, two in the High Court in Pretoria and one in Pietermartizburg.' Those three cases involved traps or undercover operations. Police were notified of a transaction taking place. A police agent negotiated the sale and the accused were arrested the minute the child was handed over. This was the first case where there was no victim or body to present to court. The focus had to be on the sale of the child. Heermun said, 'We then had to decide on the credibility, on the admissibility, and how to best present it in court." "You have to anticipate every possible angle the defence might come at your case and prepare in fact and in law for those arguments.' Balancing the evidence and the emotions wasn't always easy. VIZ@ the two prosecutors in court Swanepoel says trafficking in persons is the most challenging case to prove in court due to the vulnerability of the victims. She says prosecutors have to be strong for their victims. So, was Joshlin sold to a sangoma by her mother for R20,000 or was she taken to a woman called Ma Kalima by Jacquen Appolis and Steveno Van Rhyn on Kelly Smith's instructions? Swanepoel said, "Our argument is it's irrelevant to whom Joshlin was delivered because that is in fact the only contentious part in the evidence." "It was however, and this is the evidence that the court accepted, that there was an agreement, there was a plan to sell Joshlin, there was an agreement to sell Joshlin, there was even an agreement on the price. All four of the parties, and I include Miss Lombaard, all four of the parties agreed to the selling of Joshlin. All agreed to the benefit they were going to get and the roles they were going to play and that is what the court found .'
Eyewitness News
5 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
SANTACO calls for calm heads after deadly shooting at CT's Mfuleni taxi rank
CAPE TOWN - The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) has called for calm heads following a deadly shooting at the Mfuleni taxi rank in Cape Town. On Friday, four taxi operators were shot dead, while two others and a commuter were wounded. ALSO READ: Western Cape cops vow to net gunmen behind fatal Mfuleni taxi rank mass shooting Police suspect that tensions over a taxi route between Mfuleni township and Somerset West might be the cause of the attack. SANTACO in the Western Cape said it's deeply disturbed by the deadly shooting. SANTACO provincial chairperson Mandla Hermanus said they'll be meeting with the CATA and CODETA taxi associations to try and get to the bottom of this attack. 'We urge all operators to remain calm and exercise maximum restraint. This incident must not be allowed to derail the efforts underway to build peace and unity within the taxi industry across the province.' A cash reward of R100,000 is offered to anyone who can help detectives bring the gunmen responsible to justice.
