Thohoyandou – Commuters were left in shock after a stationary minibus taxi mysteriously caught alight at Mvusuludzo Shopping Centre in Thohoyandou, Limpopo.
The minibus taxi, which operates from Thohoyandou to Shayandima, was parked on Monday, 6 October 2025, waiting ot ferry commuters when it burst into flames.
Visibly shaken, commuter Gladys Mungani, who was waiting to board the minibus taxi, said: “I am still in shock.”
She added: “I was standing next to the taxi when the fire broke out.”
Taxi drivers and other persons unsuccessfully tried to douse the fire with water.
The flames engulfed the whole vehicle.
Fortunately, the other minibus taxis were saved from the blaze.
Suggesting that it may have been the dark arts, Mungani said: “The fire just began out of nowhere, but it is just luck or the grace of God that no one was injured.”
However, Edwin Mulaudzi, a minibus taxi driver, said the parked vehicle may have caught alight as a result of a wiring fault.
“It is so sad to lose one’s property in this manner. I feel sorry for my brother, who was driving it, as he might be jobless with the festive season approaching,” said Mulaudzi.
The incident left an impression on shoppers in Thohoyandou, a small city in the Limpopo Province, south of Venda, with a rich agricultural and cultural heritage.
Shopper Happy Ramudzuli said he was now scared of boarding a minibus taxi after he witnessed the fire.
“If I had another choice, today I was not going to board a taxi because I still have goosebumps after what I witnessed,” said the terrified commuter.
“What if I was inside the taxi when the fire started?
“But because I still need to get home, I will have no other choice but to board a taxi regardless of my fears.”
Police and fire rescue responders were nowhere to be seen.
