Pretoria - A University of Johannesburg law graduate who drove on e-hailing platform Bolt as a side hustle while waiting for a firm to do his articles, was gunned down by passengers in Noordwyk, Midrand.
Euston Mnguni, 28, who had recently graduated after completing his law studies, was shot four times after being hijacked by Bolt clients he had picked up at Glen Austin, Midrand on Friday, March 24.
His brother, Melithemba Mnguni, who is also the Gauteng provincial secretary of the E-hailing Partners Council, told IOL on Tuesday that he was against his younger brother driving on the Bolt platform out of safety concerns.
“I gave him my car to drive for Uber when he was doing his last year because I figured that since his schedule was less busy, he can drive and make some extra cash.
“I didn’t have a problem with Uber, but I specifically told him that I don’t want him to drive for Bolt because I had safety concerns,” he said.
Melithemba described his younger brother as a self-driven young man who had big dreams.
After graduating, Euston went to work in Mpumalanga as a store manager but decided to leave his job when the supermarket was robbed twice. He returned the car to his brother.
He explained that his brother returned to Joburg and wanted to do his articles, while driving on Uber on the side as he waited for positive offers.
“His (Uber) account was unfairly blocked and he couldn’t drive again, but he knew that I was against him driving for Bolt and he did it behind my back.
“We were not staying together, that’s why he drove for Bolt without me knowing, he kept it a secret because he knew I was against it,” he said.
On the day he went missing, Euston left home after 1pm and only made one successful trip. The second trip, which was just after 3pm on Friday, led to his demise.
“Police say there were witnesses who saw what happened. He was shot four times, the bullets hit his neck and chest, after that they pushed him out of the car and drove off. He got up and tried to walk but he fell and that was the end of him,” Melithemba explained.
According to Melithemba, before the family was informed that Euston was dead, they tried to find him after he failed to come back home and was also not answering his phone.
“Initially, we were not worried because he’s a young man and we thought maybe he went to see his friends. But the next morning when we realised that both his phones were off, that’s when we started to panic because it was not in his nature to switch off both his phones.
“On Find My Phone app, it showed that after 5pm, his phone was at a tavern called Nyama King in Ivory Park. After opening a missing person case, we went to Ivory Park and drove around the area hoping that maybe we will see the car but we didn’t.”
Meanwhile, Melithemba has appealed to the public to help his family find the car Euston was driving, a black Kia Rio sedan.
The car, not to be confused with the one he drove before going to Mpumalanga, was bought by the deceased and his sister.
“I could say it was a family car, Euston and my sister bought it together,” said Melithemba.
PLZ HELP US FIND our Kia Rio
— Melithemba (@MnguniChris) March 27, 2023
Hijack date: Friday 23 March, 2023
Time: 3pm
Cellphone Tracking last location: 17h44 Nyama King, Ivory Park
Circumstances: #Bolt trip, driver shot dead by passengers
Hijack at: Midrand Noordwyk
Lead Info contact: Melithemba
Cell: 076 895 8660 pic.twitter.com/RoHJTguaqi
IOL