Taxi driver claims Mark Tshuma mistook him for hitman

A private taxi driver has claimed he had a bizarre and disturbing encounter with Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, also known as Mark Tshuma, shortly before the Zimbabwean-born British national was arrested in South Africa.

The claims are contained in an unverified audio recording circulating on social media platform X and have not been independently verified by police or any other official authority.

In the recording, the man, who identifies himself as a private taxi driver, alleges that Tshuma appeared distressed and mistakenly believed he was one of several people allegedly sent to kill him.

According to the driver, Tshuma approached him and said, "Shoot me, you were supposed to shoot me."

The driver claimed Tshuma appeared emotionally unstable and convinced that his life was in imminent danger.

He further alleged that two men accompanying Tshuma contacted him to transport the suspect, after which he drove him for a short distance.

During the journey, the driver claimed he saw a message arrive on Tshuma's mobile phone informing him that police were at his house.

He also alleged that Tshuma's mother telephoned during the trip and that he briefly spoke to her before handing the phone back to her son.

According to the driver, he repeatedly tried to calm Tshuma and urged him not to harm himself.

He said Tshuma eventually got out of the vehicle near Rosettenville despite his efforts to persuade him to remain inside because he appeared deeply troubled.

The driver claimed it was only later that evening, after seeing media reports on his phone, that he realised the passenger he had transported was the man wanted in connection with the deaths of his wife and two daughters in the United Kingdom.

The account surfaced days after South African police disclosed that they believe Tshuma purchased an illegal firearm shortly after arriving in Johannesburg and intended to use it to end his own life.

Speaking after Tshuma's first court appearance, South African Police Service spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said investigators believed the firearm had been acquired soon after he entered the country.

"According to our investigation, after landing in South Africa on July 5, he then went to one of the townships and bought this particular unlicensed firearm," Mathe said.

"It is our suspicion that this firearm was going to be used to end his life."

Tshuma, 45, appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court after being arrested in Kensington during a joint operation involving the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Interpol.

He currently faces a South African charge of possessing an illegal firearm while British authorities pursue his extradition to face three counts of murder.

Prosecutors allege that Tshuma fled the United Kingdom after the deaths of his wife, Nothabo Zandile Tshuma (42), and their daughters, Natalie (15) and Nala (5).

The three were found dead at the family's home in Great Denham, Bedfordshire, on 6 July, with post-mortem examinations concluding that they died from blunt force trauma.

The matter was postponed to 22 July to allow South African authorities to verify Tshuma's immigration status and continue extradition proceedings.

Neither South African nor British investigators have commented on the taxi driver's claims, and there is currently no official evidence to substantiate the allegations contained in the circulating audio recording.