Gauteng National Taxi Association chairperson Thami Moyo was shot dead on the Soweto highway on Thursday.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Mavela Masondo confirmed the shooting but said authorities could not yet definitively link the incident to taxi violence. The Gauteng Transport Department said circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear.

According to police, Moyo was driving alone when he was ambushed by suspects travelling in a minibus taxi and a Toyota Yaris. The suspects opened fire, fatally wounding him.

Metro police confirmed a fatal shooting on a minibus taxi on the highway. Police are awaiting preliminary reports from investigators at the scene.

Association spokesperson Theo Malele confirmed the incident but did not immediately have information on what occurred. “We can confirm that there has been an assassination but the motive behind this is unknown,” Malele told Report Focus News.

Malele refused to be drawn on the motive for the murder. “Speculation would be fruitless at this time,” he said.

Masondo told media at the crime scene that nothing was taken from Moyo’s vehicle. “We suspect it is, taking into account that the victim is the chairperson of a taxi association,” he said about possible links to taxi violence.

The killing adds to escalating taxi violence in Gauteng province. Thirty people died in taxi-related violence in March alone, according to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.

In April, the Gauteng government said it had brokered a ceasefire between delegates of the National Taxi Alliance and SA National Taxi Council. At that time, the bloodshed had claimed 59 lives in the province since the beginning of the year.

In May, Transport MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela condemned the resurgence of taxi violence across parts of Gauteng province despite peace agreements and public promises by taxi industry leaders.

Police are investigating the murder. No arrests have been made.

The Soweto highway remained open to traffic Thursday afternoon as investigators processed the crime scene.