Three people have been killed and 15 injured in drive-by shootings sparked by conflict over taxi routes to and from the new Cape Gate shopping centre in Cape Town’s northern suburbs, with the first shots being fired before the mall opened on Human Rights Day.
Official police statements over the weekend pointed to route rivalries as the motive for the shootings. But it is understood that operators’ unhappiness over the regulation of permits and opposition by some elements to the recapitalisation process are also factors.
The three dead are a driver and two taxi owners of the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata). The wounded are commuters.
Police have arrested two suspects — their membership of the Convention of Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) emerged in court on Tuesday. Police also detained another five of unknown affiliation for questioning.
Western Cape public works and transport MEC Mcebisi Skwatsha met representatives from rival associations in a bid to end the violence.
Both organisations were involved in deadly disputes between 1990 and 1992 and again in the mid-Nineties. In 2000, some taxi bosses turned against Cape Town’s bus service; six people were killed and 53 injured in a spate of shootings over four months.
In the current flare-up, commuters have born the brunt. After the reopening of the Belville taxi rank, closed for the long weekend after a shoot-out on Saturday, commuters walked to train and bus terminals.
Community safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane urged taxi operators to get their house in order.
“The law will be upheld and people will be arrested if they contravene the law,” said his spokesperson Makhaya Manie.