A 35-year-old taxi driver has been apprehended by the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) on charges related to reckless and negligent driving, as well as fraud, according to statements from EMPD spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Kelebogile Thepa.
The incident unfolded when officers from the Tembisa precinct observed a white Toyota Quantum Ses’fikile minibus taxi driving recklessly and disregarding traffic signs near the Isangweni taxi rank on Andrew Mapheto Drive. The driver was subsequently pursued and stopped at a traffic light near the Mpho Bridge at Mpho Section.
Upon inspection, it was revealed that the driver’s license presented by the suspect was fraudulent, bearing a photo that did not match his identity. The driver confessed that the license actually belonged to his brother residing in Zimbabwe.
Following the discovery, the taxi driver was promptly detained at the Rabasotho police station, facing charges under the Immigration Act in addition to those for reckless and negligent driving. Further charges of fraud have also been levied against him.
The Toyota Quantum minibus taxi has been impounded by the Tembisa EMPD precinct for further investigation.
This incident echoes a similar occurrence reported last year by IOL, wherein EMPD arrested another Zimbabwean taxi driver for possession of a fake driver’s license after he was caught driving recklessly in Tembisa.