A former taxi driver accused of attempted murder appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, following a violent road rage incident in Maitland that went viral on social media.
28-year-old Mthuthuzeli Sikhweza handed himself over to police on Monday after being filmed allegedly stabbing a motorist multiple times at the intersection of Canon and Voortrekker Roads.
READ MORE: UPDATE: Arrest made for Maitland “road rage” stabbing
Sikhweza, who travelled from the Eastern Cape to attend court, has been charged with attempted murder as well as reckless and negligent driving. He is expected back in court on 25 July.
Mandla Hermanus, chairperson of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), said this case highlights the lack of identification mechanisms in the taxi sector. As such, Hermanus said the delay in identifying Sikhweza could have been avoided.
“It wouldn’t have taken three weeks and this thing first going via social media for us to pick up that there had been this serious incident with one of our taxis,” said Hermanus.
He emphasised the urgent need for “formalisation” within the industry.
“We’ve talked about having all our drivers registered and in addition to that having unique branding for all our taxis because had we had that it would have been easy on the very first day to be able to identify the vehicle and the driver.”
Hermanus confirmed that Sikhweza will not be allowed to drive for the association again. He added that efforts are underway with the Department of Transport to implement universal branding and driver registration across the province.
