Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police has condemned the killing of 11 people who were ambushed near Colenso in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday evening. Four others were wounded when an unknown number of men opened fire on a taxi.

The occupants of the vehicle were travelling to Johannesburg after attending a funeral of a taxi boss in KwaZulu-Natal. They all belonged to the Ivory Park Taxi Association in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.

Chairperson of the Committee, Francois Beukman, says in order to deal with crime effectively, there is an urgent need to eliminate illegal firearms which are used as tools to perpetrate these acts.

“While the Committee is cognisant that a proper investigation would need to be undertaken to ascertain the firearms utilised in perpetrating these crimes, it is almost certain that illegal firearms were used. The incidence of last night is a further indication that violence in the taxi industry has now reached crisis levels in the country and multi-sectoral intervention strategy must be implemented to effectively deal with this scourge. The Committee welcomes the activation of a 72-hour action plan by the National Commissioner.”