Foreigners attacked in South Africa after a Taxi driver was murdered by drug dealers in Pretoria

A reprisal attack was launched against foreigners by South Africans, following the murder of a Taxi driver by suspected drug dealers in Pretoria CBD on Tuesday August 27. 

The cabbie was shot dead after he alongside other Taxi drivers confronted suspected drug dealers in the community in bid to clean the city’s streets.

“The taxi operators took the law into their own hands. They apparently approached the drug addicts in the CBD. Then there was a commotion and shots were fired, and one taxi operator was shot and killed”  Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) spokesperson, Isaac Mahamba said. 

It was further learnt that after the taxi operators found people believed to be police officers were allegedly involved in the selling of drugs, they used the city’s buses to block traffic to “deal” with the nyaope (drug) boys. 

“A shooting which resulted in the death of a taxi driver is reported to have incited the riots, which led to two A Re Yeng buses, three Tshwane Bus Service (TBS) buses, a Gautrain bus and two trucks being utilised to blockade the roads. A Re Yeng and TBS operations were halted for the rest of the day in the interest of safety,” Tshwane Transport MMC Sheila Senkubuge told Sowetan. 

Here is a video from the scene of the protest which is still ongoing;