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Santaco Steps In After Brutal Killing of E-Hailing Driver at Maponya Mall

Published

2 weeks ago

August 19, 2025

Chiraag

Santaco press briefing, Siyanda Mvelase funeral support, Maponya Mall shooting Soweto, e-hailing driver killed, South Africa taxi violence, Joburg ETC

The killing of 27-year-old e-hailing driver Siyanda Mvelase outside Maponya Mall has left Soweto reeling in shock and fear. His car was riddled with bullets and set alight, and his life ended just two days after he began driving to support his family.

This week, the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) announced that it would step in to help. Santaco President Abner Tsebe said the council would transport Mvelase’s remains from Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal, working with Icebolethu Funeral Parlour, to ensure that the family can lay him to rest in dignity.

A Promising Life Cut Short

Mvelase’s family, devastated by the sudden loss, told reporters he had only started work as an e-hailing driver two days before the attack. He was trying to build a life for himself when violence struck.

Police say the killing was carried out by four armed men who opened fire as Mvelase’s car stopped at the mall entrance. They then set his car alight. A second vehicle nearby was also shot at and torched, although the driver managed to escape. A passerby and that driver were both wounded and remain in hospital.

Investigators are probing charges of murder, attempted murder, and arson, but no arrests have been made.

Santaco’s Response

Speaking at a press briefing, Tsebe condemned the attack, calling it “inhuman, criminal, and unacceptable.” He added that Santaco has a zero-tolerance policy for violence and warned that any taxi operators or drivers linked to the attack would be expelled immediately.

“This is not just a transport story; it is a human story,” Tsebe said. “It is about a life cut short, families left broken, and communities that no longer feel safe in South Africa.”

Santaco has also promised to visit survivors in hospital and plans to hold a prayer service at Maponya Mall in September. Local bishops and ministries have pledged their support.

A Community in Grief

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Social Development, Mbali Shinga, visited the Mvelase family home in Ulundi on Monday. While her department cannot fund funeral costs, she promised to mobilise support and delivered food parcels to ease the family’s burden.

For many South Africans, the brutality of this killing highlights the ongoing tension between taxi associations and e-hailing drivers, a conflict that has already left communities anxious and divided.

For Mvelase’s family, the focus now is on giving him the farewell he deserves. As one community elder put it outside the mall: “We cannot continue to bury young men like this. Enough is enough.”