Angry Taxi Owner: I hired a tsotsi, unaware!

THE owner of a Toyota Quantum used in a recent ATM bombing attempt in Protea Glen, Soweto, revealed the driver involved was a new employee who had started working three weeks prior.

This driver is one of the two arrested after their failed attempt to bomb an ATM.

Mpho Mabasa, the vehicle owner, spoke to Daily Sun about the incident that shocked him deeply.

Mabasa said the driver took the vehicle around 4am on the day of the attempted ATM bombing.

“I don’t know what happened. I received a call from police informing me my vehicle was at a crime scene,” he said.

The new driver, referred to Mabasa by his previous driver, began working for him on 17 February.

“When I arrived at the scene, I was shocked to see a lifeless body lying next to my taxi. I’m heartbroken. When I hired this boy, I thought I was providing him with an opportunity to support himself,” said Mabasa.

He described the driver as a young man born in 2003, someone he believed had a bright future ahead of him.

“I never knew he was involved in such activities,” he said.

His taxi operated between Protea Glen and Bara/Diepkloof routes in Soweto.

“I won’t be able to get my car back until ballistics complete their investigation. I’m saddened because this taxi is my livelihood. Other taxis I own are still owing, and this is the only one that’s debt-free,” he said.

Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, Police Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, confirmed the driver admitted to using the taxi to transport criminals involved in the ATM bombing plot.

Chief Patrick Jaca of the Joburg Metropolitan Police Department praised the Tactical Response Unit (TRU) for swiftly preventing the bombing and arresting suspects.

“On 12 March 2025, the JMPD TRU received intelligence from SAPS Crime Intelligence about a planned ATM bombing at an Engen filling station in Protea, Soweto,” said Jaca.

Around 2.30am. on 13 March, gunshots were heard from the Engen petrol station. Officers at the scene saw a group fleeing, and the suspects fired at police, who returned fire. The suspects fled into nearby bushes.

Upon searching the filling station, officers found a security guard shot in the arm and explosives attached to an FNB ATM that hadn’t detonated. Police learned a white Toyota Quantum had transported the suspects. The TRU team pursued the vehicle, intercepting it on Volta Road in Lenasia, where another shootout occurred.

Officers recovered four explosives, two firearms, six detonator wires, additional wiring, and the Quantum used in the crime.