Sword Attack in Rose Hill - The Taxi Driver: "It was like a way to kill me"

"My head is badly injured but thank God it's not more serious than that," says Mohamad Iqbal Meeajan. This 55-year-old man has a thick bandage wrapped around his head, six days after being attacked with a sword.

Around noon on Friday, February 17th, the Remono Avenue in the center of Rose Hill witnessed a violent assault in plain sight of passersby and shopkeepers. This shocking act of violence, which was filmed, went viral on social media. A brown taxi driver, sword in hand, attacked taxi driver Iqbal Meeajan, who lives in Trèfles.

Mohamad Iqbal Meeajan, a 55-year-old taxi driver, was waiting near the Hassamal commercial building in Rose Hill for passengers to serve the Rose Hill – Stanley route. "At 12:15, I was at my car in the parking lot, standing and waiting for my client to arrive. I planned to make a trip before going to Jummah," he recounts.

Without warning, the armed man: Mohammad Sohail Ibne Kaiz Sheik Dawood, struck several blows at Iqbal Meeajan. "He was trying to kill me for sure." The taxi driver struggled with his attacker to dodge the blows. "In the video, you can see how I was fighting him, to avoid getting a second blow." Iqbal Meeajan was injured on the head. "The way he was swinging the sword was to kill me, only God spared me," he said.

After the attack, the brown taxi driver jumped into his car and left the scene without consequence, while making threats. "I told you I would cut you." Iqbal Meeajan was kept under observation at Victoria Hospital in Candos and returned home earlier this week. On the day of the attack, the Rose Hill police arrested Mohammad Sohail Ibne Kaiz Sheik Dawood, 22, a resident of Boundary in Rose Hill. He is facing charges of "assault with premeditation" at the Rose Hill court.

According to Iqbal Meeajan, this attack stems from a dispute dating back to 2018 involving a conflict with brown taxis. "Taxis are not supposed to take away my right to work; I have a permit for everything, I need to work to support my family. I have nothing against brown taxis; they should earn their living as well. I never said that brown taxis should not work; we all need to make a living. But it should be done in a fair way; this fight interferes with our work." The Rose Hill police are continuing their investigation and have requested footage from Safe City.