THE happy and excited chattering among friends sharing a cold fizzy drink suddenly stopped.
Their shock at seeing the gunman appear from nowhere lasted only a moment – and then shots rang out. Before people at Adams Mission taxi rank knew what had hit them, two taximen lay dead.
The unknown gunman fled as quickly as he had appeared, leaving taxi operators, commuters and passersby in Isipingo CBD on Wednesday afternoon in a sombre mood as they gathered around the lifeless bodies of the two men.
Mjay Xolo (45) and Lungelo Mafunda (55), both said to be taxi operators from the Eastern Cape long distance taxi association, Uncedo Taxi Service, were gunned down.
A witness told Daily Sun: “The gunman fired a hail of shots towards both men.
“I doubt whether anyone would recognise his face as everyone ran for cover when the shots rang out. The gunman quickly disappeared. By then they were already dead.”
It’s not yet clear what the motive for the murders was.
Solomon Cele, the Uncedo taxi rank manager, said so far there was nothing linking the murders to the taxi industry.
“We have never had any violence or problems since we started operating.”
Mandla Mzelemu, South Africa National Taxi Council provincial spokesman, also condemned the crime and warned that taxi violence was more frequent over the festive period.
KZN police spokeswoman Captain Nqobile Gwala said two cases of murder were opened at Isipingo Police Station.
“We appeal to anyone who may have information about the suspects to assist the cops.”
