Maponya Mall Horror: One Killed, Others Burned as Taxis Target Uber Cars

Conflict between Uber Cars and Taxis (image source)

A peaceful evening at Maponya Mall in Soweto, South Africa, turned deadly this week when attackers set e-hailing vehicles ablaze, resulting in one death and injuries to two others. The incident occurred outside the mall late Wednesday. One Uber or Bolt driver was killed, and two others required medical attention after their vehicles were torched in apparent vigilante reprisals. Social videos and TikTok reels from the scene showed scorched metal, chaos, and panic as firefighters and police responded.

While speculation has tethered the violence to private taxi associations, long known for hostility toward ride-hailing services, no official statements have confirmed the perpetrators. Some online observers point to simmering tensions over territory, earnings, and municipal regulation, as taxi drivers have often viewed digital platforms as undercutting fares and bypassing licencing norms.

A video clip circulating on Instagram shows the moment a taxi was torched near the mall, amid mounting commuter distress and cries of injustice from e-hailing drivers. Witnesses and rider forums report that mall parking attendants, ride-hail stand controllers, and commuters were trapped in confusion as the blaze erupted.

This is not the first time such violence has flared in South Africa’s transport sector. Over the years, tensions between minibus taxi associations and app-based drivers have sparked riots, protests, and even fatal altercations, underscoring structural fissures in the country’s regulators and economic geographies. Soweto commuters, many of whom rely on ride-hail services for safety and convenience, expressed dismay. One taxi-driver commentator on TikTok lamented, “We can use our money however we want”—a statement catching at the broader debate over urban mobility rights and informal justice disguised as popular revolt.

Authorities have deployed additional police resources to Maponya Mall. A formal investigation is underway, with the focus on identifying and arresting the attackers, and understanding whether this was opportunistic violence or organized retaliation.

Meanwhile, the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) published a statement saying it was “deeply concerned about the continued illegality and lack of regulation in the e-hailing services sector.” Whilst condemning the attack on the e-hailing drivers, it said that due to a lack of regulations on e-hailing in South Africa, it “has created an environment where many e-hailing operators are operating without government-authorised permits.” It added that this has allegedly allowed e-hailing drivers working for brands like Uber and Bolt to “congest” the sector.

For Zimbabwean readers, the incident rings alarm bells across our own borderless taxi and commuter landscapes. Similar tensions exist in Harare’s CBD, where commuter omnibus operators navigate competition from ride-hail apps amid informal enforcement.