Thami Moyo, the chairperson of the Gauteng National Taxi Association, was shot and killed in an ambush on the Soweto Highway. He was driving alone when suspects in a minibus taxi and a Toyota Yaris opened fire.
The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) confirmed the incident. While police have not yet definitively linked the murder to taxi violence, they strongly suspect it is connected, noting that nothing was stolen from the vehicle, indicating it was a targeted hit.
The case may be handed over to a specialized taxi violence task team. Police have appealed to the public for any information and have closed a section of the Soweto Highway for the investigation.
Thami Moyo was the chairperson of the Gauteng National Taxi Alliance, a significant leadership position in the taxi transport sector in the Gauteng region of South Africa. He played a crucial role in representing and organizing taxi operators in the province, an industry often marked by intense rivalry and conflict over routes and territories.
The taxi alliance he led is frequently involved in managing and sometimes mediating taxi-related disputes, which are linked to broader issues of transportation and economic activity in Gauteng.
His assassination on 18 September 2025 is suspected to be connected to ongoing taxi violence, which is a notorious challenge in the region that involves fierce competition for control over profitable routes.
