A harrowing incident unfolded in Durban on Sunday, as a woman and her two daughters were held at gunpoint and robbed by an e-hailing driver they had hired to take them to the city.
The victims, a 40-year-old self-employed businesswoman from Parkgate and her two daughters, aged 18 and 11, sought assistance at the Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) headquarters after the shocking ordeal.
The woman explained that she had booked the ride to attend an event at Moses Mabhida Stadium, with plans to continue into central Durban afterwards for a shopping trip to buy clothing for export to Zimbabwe.
Upon reaching the stadium, the woman attempted to pay the fare with R300 when the driver allegedly noticed a larger sum of money in her possession.
The situation escalated when the driver pulled out a firearm, demanded the money, and stole R8,000 from them before abandoning the victims on the roadside. He fled in a white Toyota, though the exact model and registration number remain unidentified.
In a fortunate turn of events, the 11-year-old daughter managed to secretly hide R100 in her bag, which they later used to pay for transport back to the RUSA center.
RUSA officers have since obtained a photo of the suspect, who is believed to live in Waterloo, KZN. However, the image will not be made public until a formal criminal case is filed.
Fortunately, none of the victims sustained physical injuries during the incident.
