Four people were gunned down at a taxi rank in central Johannesburg on Thursday in what police believe to be part of ongoing rivalries between taxi associations. The attack came just a day after three other people were shot dead in a similar incident near the city.
According to police, a group of armed men arrived at a taxi rank in the Jeppestown area early in the morning and opened fire. The victims included a taxi driver, a queue marshal, and two street vendors, while three others—a university student, another driver, and a passenger—sustained injuries. Authorities suspect the attack is linked to violence within the minibus taxi industry, which has long been plagued by deadly turf wars.
The day before, three taxi drivers lost their lives in a shooting at a rank in Katlehong, southeast of Johannesburg. Two passengers were also wounded when gunmen stormed the area and opened fire indiscriminately.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with police statistics showing an average of 75 killings daily. However, the figures do not specifically track fatalities related to the ongoing taxi conflicts, which have been a persistent issue for decades.
