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E-hailing vehicle set alight at Maponya Mall as part of a dispute between taxi drivers and e-hailing drivers.
The family of the 27-year-old e-hailing cab driver, who was brutally killed in an arson attack at Maponya Mall in Soweto, are pleading for assistance to have his remains returned home.
Mthokozisi Mvelase, who hails from the Nhlungwane area of Ulundi in northern KwaZulu-Natal, had just landed a job with an e-hailing company when he was shot and set alight inside his vehicle.
His family says Mvelase, an only child, had relocated to Johannesburg with the hope of improving his and his mother’s financial situation.
He has been described as a humble and an ambitious young man. He was brutally murdered in an ongoing clash between taxi and e-hailing operators in Soweto on Wednesday.
His murder has sparked community outrage and protests, affecting operations at Maponya Mall where he was murdered.
“Why would they burn his body after killing him?” asks a family member.
The family is struggling to come to terms with their loss.
His uncle, Mlamuli Khuzwayo, says they don’t even have money for a funeral.
“What is more horrific is that we have been informed he was burnt to ashes. They only recovered one of his bones. That is what we will be burying. Maybe we would have found closure if they could have at least spared his body after shooting him. Currently, we have no money for burial. We have nothing. We don’t even have money to fetch his remains from Johannesburg. We are in disbelief and confused,” says Khuzwayo.
Khuzwayo is calling for justice.
“We want these criminals who killed my nephew in such a brutal manner to be arrested. Government must address such attacks. We want closure. Police must move with speed. There must be justice,” he adds.
Mvelase’s aunt, Ntombenhle, says the family was pinning their hopes on him to changing their financial situation.
“The way I am so devastated, I cannot express it. The last time I spoke to him was on Monday. He was telling me about his ambitions of building his mother a proper house.”
Meanwhile, the e-hailing industry has called on government to act swiftly to enforce regulations that will protect commuters and operators.
Maponya Mall e-hailing attack | Family of the deceased
