Hopping mad driver leaves assailant without a leg to stand on

An e-hailing driver operating in the Cape Town suburb of Philippi East was hopping mad when a man purporting to be a customer tried to hijack him this week.

But instead of meekly surrendering to his assailant, he fought back hard and left the would-be-hijacker without a leg to stand on after riding over him with his car.

‘Customer’ booked a 35km ride to Somerset West

The Daily Voice, a tabloid newspaper circulating in the Western Cape, reports that the driver, identified as 33-year-old Mulisa Nemathaga, received a request via his ride-hailing app for a customer who wanted to go from Philippi East to Somerset West, a distance of about 35km.

After phoning the ‘customer’ to confirm that he wanted to book a ride for a destination so far away, Nemathaga arrived in Philippi East for the pickup.

Driver fought attackers and retrieved his car keys

But the customer then opened his door and grabbed his cellphone while other attackers attempted to get the vehicle’s keys. Determined not to be a tame taxi driver, he fought the man, who had a firearm, and retrieved his keys.

He then chased his assailant with his car and bumped him against a wall as the other would-be attackers fled the scene, the Daily Voice said. In doing so “the ‘jacker was left bloodied and with a broken foot, the bones visibly showing,” the newspaper reported.

Would-be hijacker known to other e-hailing drivers

By now hopping mad and with his attacker bloodied and bleeding, Nemathaga took a photo of him and posted it on Facebook. It turned out that the man was known to other e-hailing drivers and had allegedly been involved in similar attacks.

“I dealt with him,” Nemathaga told the newspaper. “I am from Joburg, I do not play around.”

W. Cape government called for caution last year

Last year the Western Cape Government called on Uber, Bolt and drivers of other e-hailing companies to practice caution when operating in parts of Cape Town.  

The provincial minister of community safety, Albert Fritz, asked the companies to “take measures to ensure the safety of drivers and their customers”.

The statement recommended drivers be “cautious in hotspot areas which include Govan Mbeki Road in Philippi, Bristol and Sheffield Roads in Browns Farm, Klipfontein Road, Miller Road and Eisleben roads in Nyanga and Crossroads”.