A taxi driver who allegedly drugged a woman passenger, hit her with a bottle on her head, robbed her of belongings and later ran her over with his car is set to face justice in the Moretele magistrate’s court.
Lebogang Grace Mokhonwana, 27, of Makapanstad village, north of Pretoria, told Sunday World that she was still traumatised by the physical pain inflicted upon her allegedly by taxi driver Collen Boitumelo Magongoa in August 2022.
“I want the law to punish him according to the pain that he inflicted on me; life sentence if possible. I need to be strong enough to handle things that the accused did to me. Eventually I need to heal. This will all pass,” she said.
Detailing what happened to her on that disastrous night, Mokhonwana said: “The taxi left the mall around 6:45pm. The taxi dropped off people at different stops while on its way to my home. I was the last passenger left in the taxi. While he was driving, the driver was driving recklessly, hitting speed humps. I told him he was hurting me with his driving.
“He then stopped the taxi around the Mathibestad area and got out. He opened the driver’s window and took out a dirty cloth laced it with a purple liquid from inside the taxi. He covered my mouth with the cloth. He then hit me on the head with a glass bottle.”
She said she regained consciousness around 8:30pm inside Magongoa’s taxi.
“When I regained consciousness, I was half naked and bleeding from the head. I opened the taxi window and jumped out while the taxi was moving.
After jumping out, the taxi stopped, and he drove over my legs.”
She said community members living in the area where the incident occurred gave her clothes and called an ambulance. She said she spent 10 days in hospital.
“Sometimes I am scared to travel by taxi because of what happened. I do not think I can trust taxi drivers anymore,” said Mokhonwana.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo confirmed that a case of attempted murder was opened at Temba Police Station and Magongoa was arrested.
The spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in North West, Sivenathi Gunya, said Magongoa was charged with attempted murder, robbery, sexual assault and kidnapping.
Gunya said he pleaded not guilty to all the charges at the Moretele Magistrate’s Court this month. He was granted R5 000 bail.
