Gunmen open fire on taxi in Macassar, leaving one dead and several injured

A young man has shared the harrowing account of how his father escaped death and injury while being inside a taxi as gunmen opened fire and killed the driver in Macassar.

Three other persons were wounded during the incident.

The drama unfolded on Monday, February 9, along Magdaline Gilla Road just after 4.20 pm when gunmen, apparently travelling in a bakkie, fired shots at the taxi driver. Police spokesperson, Sergeant Wesley Twigg explained what transpired.

“The circumstances surrounding a shooting incident on Monday afternoon, February 9, 2026, at about 16:20, in Magdaline Gilla Road, Macassar, where a 36-year-old male was shot and fatally wounded, and an adult female and two adult males wounded are under investigation,” Twigg said.

“Macassar police responded to a complaint of a shooting and upon arrival on the scene, they found the victims with gunshot wounds to their bodies.

"The 36-year-old victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel, while the other victims were transported to a medical facility for treatment. The motive for the attack forms part of the police investigation.

"According to reports, unknown suspects opened fire on the minibus taxi before fleeing the scene. Serious Violent Crime detectives are investigating murder and attempted murder cases.

"Anyone with any information about this shooting incident is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS anonymously.”

In a letter, one of the passengers’ sons who survived said it had been God’s protection as he sat at the back of the taxi during the shooting: “Last night my father told me how close he was to death.

"He was in a taxi on his way to Macassar from Bellville. While the taxi driver was dropping off a passenger, a bakkie that had been trailing them for some time suddenly stopped. The men in the bakkie then started shooting at the taxi. There were about 15 shots. The taxi driver was shot multiple times and died at the scene. One passenger was shot in the head and another in the buttock. My father was fortunately in the back of the taxi.

"When the shots rang out, everyone had to cower and fall down. By God’s grace, my father was not hit. Psalm 91:11: “For he will give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. To criminals, a person’s life means very little.

"They consider your life as nothing. That is why it is so important to pray in the morning before you leave your house. My prayer every morning is: “Lord, please be with my family. Protect them from evil. Cover them with your grace and mercy.”

Spokesperson for the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) in the Western Cape, Nkululeko Sityebi confirmed that the taxi driver was a member of the group.

He said that this was the first time this year that one of their members was gunned down and hoped that they would not have a repeat of last year’s taxi violence, which saw a month-long closure on routes between Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Lwandle, and Somerset West.

Mr Sityebi explained: “ I can confirm that it is one of our taxi drivers who was killed while transporting passengers in Macassar. 

“We don’t know what is the root cause of the killing so early in the year.

“We trust that police and law enforcement will deal with the perpetrator and we trust that those responsible will be brought to book so that they can be prosecuted in the court of law.

“This is the first time this year one of our members has been shot and killed. It leaves us in an uncertain position. 

“We don’t know if we are starting this year the same way we closed last year. We are hoping that this is an isolated incident or a false identity or something like that, and pray this is the end of these shootings. It must not continue.”

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