Taxi bosses have distanced themselves from social media reports warning commuters about the possibility of a full-blown taxi war on major routes, including Wynberg and Claremont.
Following a weekend of brutal violence, during which a number of taxi drivers were killed in various incidents, social media reports surfaced on Monday May 28, cautioning commuters that the situation would only get worse.
The following message was widely distributed via WhatsApp: “Taxi bosses just had a meeting they warn people Not to take taxis tomorrow on the following routes from Khayalitsha-Nyanga-Delft-Wynberg and Claremont they say they are going to take Revenge for all their drivers that had been shot and
drivers that had been shot and killed so tomorow they dont Care who is in that taxis they are going to shoot to Kill so they warn passengers on that routes take a bus stay away from taxis (sic).”
A similar voice message was also widely shared on social media, creating fear among commuters.
However, in an interview with Vukani, the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA) rubbished the threats and cautioned against “criminals” who wanted to bring instability into the taxi industry.
Codeta spokesman, Besuthu Ndungane, said his association was shocked by what he described as the “senseless killing” of its members and ordinary citizens.
He also condemned the violence, saying the industry was viewed as a “high risk”.
Mr Ndungane did not know what had led to the killings but said they were still investigating.
It is, however, believed the dispute had been fuelled by disagreements over operating routes.
“We had an emergency meeting with our drivers in Delft on Saturday, and at the same time met with Cata,” said Mr Ndungane. “We are determined to find the source of this violence. But we also believe that there are some criminal elements in it.
“Criminals have now found a way into our industry, something that we as associations need to deal with urgently. Another thing is that we are an angry society,” he told Vukani.
Mr Ndungane assured commuters that there would be no more shootings.
“This thing hurts us too. It digs deep into our pockets because we lose not only cars, but our families,” he said.
“Our commuters lose their lives. We must also send our deepest condolences to all those who lost family members and assure people that this will never happen again.”
Mr Ndungane said they expected the taxis to run smoothly from now onwards.
Cata spokesperson, Andile Soyamo, said six of their drivers had been killed over the weekend.
He said the dispute started at Wynberg taxi rank, on Friday May 25, where a man had been shot at, but not injured. The first driver was killed on the corner of Govan Mbeki and Duinefontein roads in Philippi, on Friday May 25. He said the driver had been shot by a group of people who fled on foot.
He said more drivers were shot and killed on Saturday, while others were injured.
He said the fight was among taxi owners operating from Delft to Wynberg and Claremont. He said the cause of the war was a dispute between the owners over routes between the two associations in Delft.
Mr Soyamo said in the past Codeta would transport commuters from Delft to Wynberg and Claremont only, which changed after talks between the two associations.
Mr Soyamo said there was sudden disagreement over the matter and that could be the reason for the surge in violence over the weekend.
“The taxi drivers and innocent passengers died for something that they do not know (anything about),” he said. “It is the taxi owners who have a dispute not taxi drivers. We are condemning this matter in the strongest terms. This matter should have been handled better. The working committees of Cata and Codeta should have dealt with the matter better.
“We have agreed that there won’t be any fight and we are working around the clock to find a solution.”
Siphesihle Dube, spokesperson for Transport MEC Donald Grant, said “extraordinary measures”, which may include closing the rank in Delft were being considered if the matter was not resolved.
He added that law enforcement agencies had been deployed in Delft and were “impounding any illegally operating taxis”.
Mr Dube said several people had been arrested in connection with the killings. “Additional resources have been deployed in the Delft area, over-and-above last week’s additional deployment, to increase visibility. This will include an armoured vehicle,” he said.