E-hailing request turns deadly in Nyanga

Two men were shot and killed after the duo apparently tried to rob an e-hailing driver in Nyanga. The victims were gunned down at the Ramaphosa squatter camp on Saturday. A third person was wounded.

PICTURE: ITWeb

The police's Malcolm Pojie says it is alleged that the three victims requested an uber and upon arrival they tried to mug the Uber driver, who retaliated and opened fire on them. The driver fled the scene.

‘’Nyanga police opened a double murder as well as an attempted murder docket for further investigation into the circumstances of a shooting incident on the corners of Govan Mbeki and NY-1, Ramaphosa Squatter Camp in Nyanga on Saturday, 23 March 2024 at about 20:30,’’ said Lt Col Malcolm Pojie.

Police members responded to a shooting incident and on arrival discovered the bodies of two men aged 34 and 27, with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper bodies and head. A third victim was transported to a medical facility for treatment after also sustaining gunshot wounds to the upper body,’’ he added.

Nyanga Community Policing Forum (CPF) has advised e-hailing drivers to not accept rides from the area, or to rather pick up customers from the police station.

‘’We have been saying that the guys [residents] requesting Ubers must stop it, because one day it will have consequences of any nature. Secondly, we have been saying to the Uber drivers to forego these areas via Nyanga police station, in order to see or understand if there requester is legitimate or not, so they can avoid being a victim of crime. This is not the first time an incident of such nature occurred. This is a strong message to would-be criminals,’’ said Dumisani Qwebe, Nyanga CPF Secretary.

‘’The only people that we are sincere about are the families of the victims, because now they have to prepare unnecessary funeral arrangements for people who do not respect themselves,’’ he added.

In an unrelated incident, and a Bolt driver was nearly hijacked in Mitchell's Plain on Friday. According to reports, the driver stopped in Dagbreek street, as the female passengers he was transporting wanted to urinate. It is alleged that the females then tried to choke the driver with a belt, from behind his seat, and threw petrol on his face. He managed to drive away and alerted men fixing a vehicle near Westridge High School. The driver's personal belongings were taken.

 

Done By: Mitchum George