E-Hailing Driver Survives Armed Robbery and Shooting in Viral Video

• An e-hailing driver escaped with his life in a robbery that went viral on social media in the early hours of the morning
• The robber also tried to shoot him after robbing him of his belongings and money, but he managed to drive away
• South Africans were concerned about the incident and called on the passenger's alleged role to be investigated

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered a range of criminal activities, including cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG — South Africans discussed e-hailing drivers' safety concerns after an e-hailing driver survived an armed robbery and a shooting attempt on 26 August 2025.

The E-Hailing Partners Council posted a video of the robbery happening on cameras on its @EhailingCouncil X account. In the video, the driver is transporting a passenger. It is not clear where the incident happened. The driver and his female passenger are having small talk. The passenger directs the driver, and he stops. Her phone rings, and she gets out of the car. However, a man approaches from the darkness.

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Immediately after she gets out of the car, the man suddenly jumps in, armed with a gun. The robber orders the driver to give him everything in his possession. The driver gives him his phone, and the robber instructs him to remove the password.

Driver fights back

While the robber searches the front of the car for what else he could steal, the driver decides to take action. He immediately starts the car, puts it into gear, lets the handbrake down prepares for take-off. He pushes the robber out of the car. The robber tries to shoot the driver, but the driver manages to drive away without getting shot.

View the X video here:

Recently, violence against e-hailing drivers has been a topic of concern. An e-hailing driver was killed in Maponya Mall, Soweto, and two others were injured in an attack earlier this month. His death sparked a protest from members of the community.

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They threatened to shut the Maponya Mall down for seven days if the government did not address the violence between e-hailers and taxi drivers. In response, the Gauteng Provincial Government held a stakeholder meeting to attempt to resolve the conflict.

South Africans suspect the passenger

South Africans commenting on X weighed in on the incident and slammed the woman passenger.

Mr Kalo said:

"The passenger must be investigated."

Mbulazi said:

"Would you call this an inside job?"

Fellow SAn said:

"Today we can no longer help women by the roadside because we don't know whether it's a trap or not, and that hurts because some women really need assistance."

Tshilidzi Tuwani sasid:

"People like this woman are the ones that make us throw away ubuntu."

Afro Bird said:

"Her behaviour is very suspicious."

Community burns taxi after e-hailing driver's death

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the community of Pimville in Soweto burned a taxi after the death of the e-hailing driver who was shot and killed. Nobody was injured.

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The incident happened in the midst of tensions between the community and taxi drivers, who have been accused of terrorising the community and e-hailing drivers.

Source: Briefly News