A Western Cape man linked to a spate of taxi-related murders has been arrested after months on the run. 

Police had offered a R100,000 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of Vuyolwethu Tshukela aka Yesu.

Police said Yesu, who is originally from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, has been positively linked to at least four taxi-related murders.

The murders took place in Philippi East, Nyanga, and Delft between August 2024 and September 2024. 

Western Cape police spokesperson, Brigadier Novela Potelwa, said Yesu was also being sought on charges of extortion and arson. 

Potelwa said the fugitive was apprehended in Welkom in the Free State on Friday, June 13, 2025. 

He is expected to appear in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Police said that as the investigation unfolds, additional charges could be added. 

Taxi violence in Cape Town has been escalating. Two weeks ago, four people were killed at the Emfuleni taxi rank in the Western Cape when armed men opened fire.

Last week, the Mini-Bus Taxi Task Team (MBTTT) met to discuss the deadly conflict between the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) and the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata).

The feud has already resulted in the deaths of seven taxi operators, with four more wounded, including an eight-year-old child and a passenger.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy expressed serious concern over the government’s ongoing failure to formalise the country’s taxi industry and align it with what she called ‘normal competitive business practices’.

Derryn Brigg, Deputy President of the Cape Chamber said the organisation condemns criminal elements wreaking havoc within the taxi industry at a time when closer collaboration is needed to stamp out violence within the sector. 

robin.francke@iol.co.za

IOL

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