Klerksdorp Record, Klerksdorp - It is still tense between taxi owners and the police after the incident early in May where a taxi driver was shot by police officers.
Tsietso Maloba was wounded in the leg and is still recovering from the injury he incurred on May 9. According to Hope Mandla Mooki, chairman of the Kopano taxi route, the driver was shot on the N12 after they confronted police officers who assaulted one of their patrollers. “We received a call from the patrol guys at Ultra City complaining about a policeman who was giving lifts in an illegal car. The policeman told him that we could do nothing to him as he is a policeman and he even called some buddies who came and started assaulting our guy.’’
Arriving at the filling station, the Toyota Quantum with the police officer behind the wheel allegedly sped away and the group from Kopano proceeded in following them and a chase ensued on the N12.
“At one of the intersections there was a traffic jam and we could open the vehicle to find one of our patrollers who they kidnapped being brutally assaulted. That is when all hell broke loose and in our effort to save him, the police officers started shooting at us. By God’s grace only Maloba was hit.’’
Mooki said he was also assaulted and together with other victims they did open cases against the police at Klerksdorp police station.
“That is why the N12 was closed that morning. We need to protect ourselves from police officers who think they are above the law.’’
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate is investigation the case.
