LADYSMITH, KwaZulu-Natal – The family of Muzikayifani Ngobese, a taxi boss who was gunned down along with 10 others on Tuesday says the police could have prevented the incident.
Muzikayifani Ngobese, the deputy chairperson of the Klipriver Taxi Association, along with four other occupants who were traveling with him were gunned down by unknown gunmen whilst traveling in a bakkie in Ladysmith.
The bakkie they were travelling in then lost control and collided head-on with a minibus taxi, killing six more people in the process.
A relative, Joyce Ngobese says Muzikayifani has been a major target in recent months as conflicts between two taxi associations, Sizwe and Klipriver, over the lucrative Ladysmith-Johannesburg route loomed.
Joyce added that Muzikayifani escaped death in mid-august where he was shot at 34 times but luckily one bullet managed to penetrate him.
“On the 16th (of October), he was shot, nearby, he was about to get home. They hit him with 34 bullets. He survived because only one penetrated him… He was admitted to hospital,” she said.
Joyce says they have been receiving death threats for a long time now and the police have also been notified, but failed to act accordingly.
“We are not happy at all, because they were (Police) supposed to be proactive at that time. Even now, he’s dead and they still haven’t come back to tell us what they found and who was threatening him,” added the inconsolable Joyce Ngobese.
Police say investigations are underway and no arrest have been made so far.
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