The Mayor of Ntabankulu Local Municipality, Tsileng Sobuthongo, has condemned the taxi-related violence that claimed the lives of two taxi operators in the early hours of this morning, March 27 in Ntabankulu.
According to a statement issued by the Ntabankulu Local Municipality’s head of Communications, Lungisile Mzanywa, two suspects have been apprehended by a joint operation of the police and the taxi industry.
He said law enforcement is still in pursuit of two other suspects who ran away from the scene.
Sobuthongo appreciates the swift response of the police and the taxi industry in apprehending the suspects. She said a community member who was shot by a stray bullet was rushed to hospital and is recovering.
“When the police and the community work together, crime gets to have no space in our society. It was just last week when suspects were trying to rob one of our retail shops, and it was the taxi industry working with the police that was at the centre of response and the suspects were apprehended,” said Sobuthongo.
According to her the matter is in the hands of the law enforcement, and the community is urged to be calm during this difficult period. Sobuthongo said she has always maintained that issues must be attended to through dialogue over violence as it does not solve problems.
“We pass sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.”
No comment was received from police at the time of publishing this article.
