After a taxi turf war related shootout on the morning of 10 September in which a passenger was injured seriously, more reports of skirmishes are surfacing.
A Metrobus driver who wants to stay anonymous out of fear of being attacked by taxi drivers, informed the Record that at approximately 1.15pm on 9 September he was on his way back to the depot when he witnessed another incident involving three taxis.
At the Sterling Street traffic lights three taxis came speeding past the Metrobus, skipping the red traffic light. It soon became clear to the Metrobus driver that the one taxi was in pursuit of the other two, attempting to force them off the road. At the first entrance to Westgate Shopping Centre the two taxis being chased slowed down and the drivers jumped out and ran away. Passengers were clambering to get out of the moving taxis.
The Metrobus driver then saw how a bakkie crashed into one of the taxis veering into oncoming traffic. This incident could not be confirmed officially yet.
In a joint investigation by the Record and its sister publication the Krugersdorp News, another two incidents could be confirmed. Kagiso SAPS spokesperson Warrant Officer Solomon Sibiya confirmed that seven 9mm shots were fired at five taxis of the Greater Krugersdorp Taxi Association (GKTA) and one passenger was injured.
He also confirmed Dobsonville Roodepoort Leratong Johannesburg Taxi Association’s (Dorljota) spokesperson Zeblon Simelane’s claims that two of his drivers were shot at the Leratong Hospital Taxi Rank. One man is in a critical condition.
According to members of GKTA they “do not want a war and members were told to stay calm”. (One driver from GKTA, Emmaneul Kulate, told the Record that on the morning of 10 September all taxis were searched for firearms first and only knobkerries were allowed. He did add though that drivers will start to retaliate to protect themselves and their passengers.)
GKTA also alleges that although the ongoing problem has been reported, law-enforcement authorities do not act owing to the fact that JMPD and SAPS members own taxis under the Dorljota umbrella.
The operational licences to transport commuters from Kagiso to Westgate allegedly is the reason for the current turmoil.
