Soweto residents fear for their safety in wake of e-hailing driver being killed at Maponya Mall
The driver was shot on Wednesday night, while another was injured alongside an onlooker who was hit by a stray bullet.
Family members of an e-hailing driver who was shot & killed at Maponya Mall clean the area where he was killed on 14 August 2025. Picture: Jabulile Mbatha/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - Soweto residents said that the murder of an e-hailing driver and the torching of two cars near Maponya Mall had sparked safety concerns.
The driver was shot on Wednesday night, while another was injured alongside an onlooker who was hit by a stray bullet.
Residents said it could not be business as usual at the mall following Wednesday night’s attacks.
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There’s heavy police presence outside Maponya Mall where two e-hailing vehicles were shot at and torched last night.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 14, 2025
One of the drivers died in the torched car. Another driver was shot at but managed to flee, a passerby was also shot.
These are the remains of the vehicles.
JM pic.twitter.com/NzzWWITybU
Employees of the mall have been removed from inside and when the mall management tried to call them back they were confronted by the residents. pic.twitter.com/jyi5nSYu9F
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 14, 2025
It's understood that the 27-year-old driver joined the e-hailing services recently.
His family has arrived and they are distraught and shocked by his death.
Other family members were sweeping up the last remains of the burnt car, packing it into a large plastic bag.
Meanwhile, one resident said that she was traumatised by what she saw on Wednesday night.
"I didn’t sleep. Even when they moved this car, we didn’t see them. We only saw when they took out this body. Can you imagine seeing someone, a human being, and his body is stuck on that steel of the chair, the chair with ashes?"
The community members are waiting for government officials to arrive.
One of the families of the ehailing drivers has arrived on scene.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 14, 2025
The other family members are cleaning up the last of the remains of the torched car. pic.twitter.com/p3wozWzBFq