NYANGA TAXI WAR
TAXI violence erupted in the Nyanga Taxi Rank yesterday morning, leaving one security guard dead and seven injured.
The taxi-related shooting at about 6am saw mense running for cover and injured bodies all over the place.
The Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) said the safety of commuters is their primary concern and called for more boots on the ground.
Provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile explained that there was a shootout at the public transport interchange.
He adds that the individuals shot were not community members but belonged to rival factions within the taxi organisation.
The top cop explains: “The shootout was at the taxi rank and was between two warring parties within the same taxi organisation. It resulted in injuries and one person dying.
“Seven people were left critically injured and were transported to hospital. We had our combat teams, and we prevented what could have been worse during this shooting.
“We confiscated 20 firearms, 13 of those are rifles and seven are pistols.
“We have taken 19 people in for questioning and they belong to certain security companies. They are not from here but from other provinces, we will continue following up on how they landed here.
“The investigation is currently in the hands of the provincial taxi task team.
“Engagement with Private Security Industry Regulation Authority (PSiRA) is ongoing in efforts to determine the legality of the firearms and the security companies they work for.”
Patekile said more members will remain in the vicinity to ensure commuter safety.
He adds: “The people shot are not community members but are part of the groups at war.
“Part of it would be extortion because it is about money, as they call it, it’s bucket money, we are going to investigate.
“We thank God that there were no school children at the time of the shooting and that our teams were at the taxi rank in the early hours of Tuesday morning.”
CATA spokesperson Nkululeko Sityebi called for more police visibility as thousands of learners return to school today.
He says: “The safety of our commuters will always remain our primary concern. We don’t know what happened and how this shooting happened. We are also concerned about the children who are going back to school. We are looking into the root cause of the shooting.”
Nyanga Community Policing Forum secretary Dumisani Qwebe said they will call a meeting with relevant stakeholders to discuss this brewing taxi war.
He says: “When they shoot at the terminus, kids and teachers are affected and they find themselves as victims. There are four schools that are close to the taxi rank.”