By Lehlohonolo Lehana
Four people have been killed during a shootout between rival taxi associations in Jeppestown, Johannesburg, on Thursday morning.
The shootings are believed to be linked to rivalries between taxi associations, police said, with assassinations and violence marking the competitive and lucrative industry for years.
A group of armed men in a vehicle pulled up at a rank in Jeppestown area early Thursday and opened fire, a police spokeswoman Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.
Three people were wounded — a university student, a driver and a taxi passenger, she said, adding that “The shooting is suspected to be taxi violence related.”
Three taxi drivers were killed in a similar shooting on Wednesday at a rank in the Katlehong area southeast of the city, she said.
Two passengers were wounded. “It is reported that a group of people came there and started shooting randomly,” Nevhuhulwi said.
In a separate incident, four suspected extortionists have been killed in a shootout with police on Dumisani Makhaye Drive in Durban, said KwaZulu-Natal police.
Fullview learnt that the suspects were travelling in a red VW vehicle when they tried to evade police.
Police attempted to stop the vehicle and were shot at. A large number of police vehicles and emergency services vehicles are presently on scene.
South Africa has a high murder rate that averages to around 75 killings day, according to police statistics.