Uber driver hijacked, shot
SCENE: Mandla Madabade’s vehicle
The hijacking and fatal shooting of an e-hailing driver at Vangate Mall on Friday night has left a group of his colleagues fearing for their lives as they say drivers need more protection.
Uber driver Mandla Madabade, 35, was hijacked by four men, stuffed in the boot and driven around for hours before he was shot dead in the parking lot of Vangate Mall after 8pm.
Antonio Faro, a Bolt driver who knew Mandla, says: “We are seeing more and more drivers getting attacked by people and something needs to be done about this.
“Why they did not just let him go afterwards is a mystery to me. But they instead went to kill him while he was laying in the boot, he was helpless.”
Two weeks ago, thousands of e-hailing drivers marched through Cape Town demanding better pay and safer working conditions.
“We have been saying there needs to be more protection for us but the companies only care about the people who pay,” says Antonio.
“There is always a picture of us that is sent to the customer but all we get is the person’s name so we have no idea who we are picking up.”
Uber failed to provide a comment on the incident last night.
Police spokesperson warrant officer Swartbooi says their offices did not have information on the shooting of Mandla, however, four men were arrested near Vangate Mall after 6pm following a high-speed chase.
“On the corners of Heideveld Road and Jakes Gerwel Drive, the suspicious vehicle stopped and four suspects jumped out and fled the scene. One of the suspects took out a firearm and pointed the police officer, who fired at the suspects.”