Gauteng safety committee asks for police report on taxi violence

The Gauteng portfolio committee on community safety says it has requested a formal report from the provincial police commissioner on the status and progress of the investigations into taxi-related killings.

This comes after three members of the Witwatersrand African Taxi Association were shot and killed on Zulu Road in Mofolo Central, Soweto, on Monday morning — an incident  police have linked to the taxi violence in the province.

An eyewitness told Sowetan he heard multiple gunshots and saw what looked like a car chase. Moments later, he said, the vehicle being chased hit a tree. A man holding a gun alighted from the chasing car, and looked into the crashed Toyota Corolla, apparently to check if the people inside were still alive.

Bandile Masuku, chairperson of the committee, said they “strongly condemn” the killings and called for the Gauteng police to intensify visible policing, intelligence-led operations, and swift arrests to dismantle the criminal elements fuelling the violence.

“Such brazen acts of violence undermine the rule of law and threaten the safety of communities relying on the taxi industry for daily commuting to and from work as well as various destinations,” Masuku said.

“A formal request has been made by the committee to the provincial police commissioner, Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni, to provide a detailed progress and status report regarding investigations into the recent spate of taxi-related killings in the province.”

Masuku said the provincial government should prioritise interventions that address the root causes of the conflict, including engaging all stakeholders to find lasting solutions.

Masuku said the continued loss of life was unacceptable and that the government should not allow criminality to dictate the operations of the sector. 

“The committee believes that the people of Gauteng deserve safe and reliable transport, free from violence and intimidation, and will continue to monitor the situation by requesting the provincial police commissioner to provide regular updates on what [the police are] doing to restore peace within the taxi industry,” he said.

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