Cape Town taxi violence: Hitman appears in court for four murders

The Cape Town Magistrate’s Court has formally charged a taxi violence suspect of four murder counts on Tuesday 28 September, after four people were killed in Milnerton last week.

The 41-year-old suspect, Mbongeni Songo, is facing four murder charges as well as three counts of attempted murder.

THE SUSPECT WAS ARRESTED WITH AN UNLICENSED GUN

Songo is suspected of gunning down Simphiwe Mpume, Mkhululi Mkhosana, Anga Mkhosana, and Asanda Sipondo at Milnerton’s Joe Slovo taxi rank on Wednesday 22 September.

Three of the taxi violence victims died on the scene, while the fourth one later died in hospital. The suspect was nabbed on Monday in Nyanga with an unlicensed firearm.

“The suspect, from the Nyanga area, was arrested by detectives from the Provincial Taxi Violence Unit who also seized a firearm during the arrest,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa.

“Three people were killed on the scene and a fourth victim died in hospital after sustaining serious gunshot wounds during the shooting incident.”

The case has been moved to 4 October while the suspect prepares for his bail application.

CAPE TOWN TAXI VIOLENCE WAR

Police believe that the multiple murder case involving Songo at the Joe Slovo taxi rank points to the long-running taxi feud in the city.

The battle between the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA) has witnessed 14 deaths since July 2021, where many of the victims have sadly been passengers or bystanders.

It is believed that the vicious taxi violence is about entitlement to a road route between Mbekweni in Paarl and the Bellville Public Transport Interchange in Cape Town.

Meanwhile, the two parties have been working on arbitration over the disputed route. It is hoped that the war will end with a court declaratory order.

Elsewhere in Cape Town, police have launched a manhunt after three young women were shot and killed execution-style in Khayelitsha.