The eMalahleni Magistrate Court has postponed the murder case against Uriel Sizwe Mahlangu for a formal bail application and further investigations. Mahlangu is suspected of allegedly murdering a fellow taxi operator, Thabo Sydney Mampuru, in August 2022, when they were both 39 years old.
Mahlangu briefly appeared before the court last Tuesday morning, May 07, 2024, facing a murder charge dating back to August 2022.
Mahlangu was arrested by the Mpumalanga police in Siyabuswa, Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality on Sunday, May 06, 2024.
In August 2022, the Witbank Police released a statement stating that they were searching for a taxi operator who had stabbed another taxi operator to death after an argument over the transportation of school children.
According to Witbank Police Spokesperson, Captain Eddie Hall, the incident occurred on Hippo Street, Reyno Ridge, at about 14:00. An eyewitness said that two taxi operators stopped next to the road and argued about collecting and dropping off school children.
The two taxi operators allegedly got into an argument, and when the witness intervened, they both walked back to their taxis. However, one of them took out a knife from his taxi, ran back to the victim, and stabbed him twice in the neck and once in the back. The suspect immediately jumped into his taxi and fled from the scene.
The eyewitness allegedly called emergency medical services and tried to stop the bleeding from the victim’s neck. However, Mampuru succumbed to his injuries at the scene before paramedics could arrive.
The case has been postponed to May 14, 2024, for a schedule 6 formal bail application and further investigations. Mahlangu is expected to provide the court with reasons beyond reasonable doubt why it should admit him to bail.
