Western Cape police have arrested four suspects in connection with separate taxi-related violence investigations in Hermanus, Retreat and Epping, following a series of deadly incidents that have left taxi operators dead and others injured, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The arrests were made by detectives from the provincial taxi violence unit, who carried out tracing operations in several areas over the weekend as investigations into the shootings and an alleged petrol-bombing continued.
According to police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa, the arrests form part of ongoing efforts to track down suspects linked to violent incidents affecting the province’s taxi industry.
Two men, aged 28 and 36, were arrested in Hermanus and Stanford in connection with a shooting at the Zwelihle taxi rank in September 2026.
The incident claimed the lives of two taxi owners, while a taxi driver was also injured after six gunmen allegedly opened fire.
The suspects are expected to appear in the Hermanus Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 26 October, facing murder and attempted murder charges.
In a separate investigation, police arrested a 29-year-old man in Kensington over the petrol-bombing of a taxi association chairperson’s home in Retreat on 30 September.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 26 October.
The attack forms part of a series of incidents that have prompted renewed police attention on violence linked to taxi industry disputes in the province.
Police also arrested a 29-year-old man at the Langa taxi rank in connection with a deadly shooting at the Epping taxi rank on 16 October.
Two taxi owners were killed and another person injured in that incident. Two other suspects had already been arrested on the day of the shooting.
The latest suspect is expected to appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 26 October.
Potelwa said police deployments had been strengthened at identified hotspots associated with taxi-related shootings.
Detectives from the provincial taxi violence unit are continuing to investigate recorded cases as police work to track down those suspected of involvement in the attacks.
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Picture: Jaco Marais / Gallo Images (For illustration purposes)
