Several taxi drivers are expected to appear in court on Wednesday 22 March after they attacked police officers in Mpumalanga on Monday night. According to police spokesman Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, 23 taxi operators stormed Witbank Police station on Monday 20 March. They allegedly drove to the police station in four packed taxis.
Allegedly, the taxi operators demanded the release of one of their members who had been arrested on Sunday 19 March. This follows an incident that happened on 15 March whereby a group of taxi people beat up two men for alleged theft. One of the men Sfiso Dube(29) died from the beatings and the other victim is in hospital.
On Sunday 19 March, cops went to a house in Witbank where they arrested a man who was part of the group that assaulted the deceased and arrested him. It was not an easy arrest as cops had to shoot at the suspect first. This is after he pointed at cops with a toy gun as he attempted to flee. Police were forced to shoot him in the leg and arrested him.
On Monday during the shutdown, around 6 pm, taxi operators stormed the police station demanding that their colleague be released. They started pelting the police station with stones and moered some cops. They attacked cops after they were told that they will not release the suspect and they must leave.
“Instead of leaving, they became violent and began to pelt stones at the SAPS premises. That was when members reacted thereby ensuring that all of them are arrested and charged with public violence. Their ages range between 20 and 54 and they are expected to appear in the Emalahleni Magistrate’s Court tomorrow, Monday 22 March 2023 facing charges of public violence,” said Mohlala.
