SCHOOL TRANSPORT AMBUSHED

Two taxi drivers were killed and three other people were wounded in separate shootings in Strand and Macassar on Tuesday morning, just hours apart, in what police believe were unrelated incidents.

In Strand, a 35-year-old woman transporting schoolchildren was ambushed on Onverwacht Road.

According to witnesses, she was shot in the face and chest as young children sat in the vehicle.

Community members described being startled by the sudden gunfire.

One resident said: “We didn’t see who shot at the taxi, but when we went outside to look, we saw the woman and the children were visibly shocked. A car came to take the victim to the hospital."

Minutes later, another woman rushed to the scene in a panic, fearing her neighbour’s child might have been among the victims.

She explained: “I was worried that she was also injured, but I received a call that she made it to school. The shooters didn’t even care that there were small children inside the taxi. The driver is not involved in the taxi industry; she just runs school transport."

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said officers were called to the scene and found the wounded woman still sitting in her Toyota Quantum.

“According to our information, Lwandle police officers responded to the complaint of a shooting incident in progress. They left the office and drove to Onverwacht Street, where they found the Toyota Quantum.

"Upon further inspection, they found a female aged 35 who was still sitting inside the vehicle. She was disoriented, owing to the gunshot wounds that she sustained. She was then transported to the nearby hospital.

"The suspects fled the scene. We have registered an attempted murder case.”

Swartbooi stressed that the Strand shooting seemed to be an isolated incident.

Earlier this morning, two taxi drivers from the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) were gunned down at a pick-up point on Mandela Drive in Macassar.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie confirmed the details.

He said: “Provincial Detectives from the Serious and Violent Crimes, Taxi Unit are probing the circumstances surrounding a shooting incident which claimed the lives of two men and left two bystanders injured in the early hours of Tuesday, 26 August 2025, at the Macassar Heights taxi pick-up point."

Detectives have since registered two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. 

It is unclear what the conflict between Cata and Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) is about, but over the last five days, nine drivers have been killed and six injured.

Cata spokesperson Nkululeko Sityebi has called for calm as they find solutions.

“We are saddened to have lost two of our members on Tuesday morning in Macassar. We would like to send our deepest condolences to their families and ask the law enforcement to leave no stone unturned, and hope that they will make an arrest soon.”