Johannesburg – Gauteng roads and transport MEC Ismail Vadi has sent a stern warning to the metered taxi industry that should any of its members be found to be involved in the murder of Taxify driver Siyabonga Ngcobo, its services will be shut down.
Speaking to the media shortly after visiting Ngcobo's family home in Centurion, Vadi said the escalating violence called for extreme measures.
"They have crossed the red line. This violence has been going on between metered taxis, Uber and Taxify. People are doing whatever they want. This investigation must be conducted fully. Should the evidence point to the role of the metered taxi industry, if we have to shut down all operation metered taxis in this province, we will do that."
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Vadi added that the Gauteng government was shocked by the murder because officials believed tensions had stabilised.
He said there could be links between Ngcobo's death and the killing of a taxi app driver whose body was found dumped at a dam in Pretoria.
"The situation in the past months had stabilised until a young man was picked up at a dam somewhere in the Pretoria area. This incident has shocked us all. There might well be a link to this case and that case. It warrants a different kind of response. We thought the situation had stabilised but it's clear that this situation has gone to another level," Vadi said.
Vadi then made a plea to legitimate metered taxi drivers to come forward and expose criminal elements within their industry.
"I don't believe all of them are involved. A vast majority who provide a legitimate taxi service are good people... We are here to support them, but we can't negotiate with criminality. We must join hands to isolate the criminal elements," he told journalists.
Ngcobo's charred remains were found in the boot of a car in Pretoria last week. His family is now waiting for the police to release his remains after DNA test were conducted.
Ngcobo's funeral will be held at his home at Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, next week Sunday.
