At least, 85 people have been killed in taxi-related violence and hit-style murders in Gauteng since April, deputy provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Fred Kekana has revealed.
Of the 85 cases, police have arrested 43 suspects, but only 10 remain behind bars while 33 are out on bail.
Kekana was speaking on Thursday during a briefing that was attended by premier Panyaza Lesufi, MEC for roads and transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, senior police management and taxi associations.
The briefing follows a rise in public criticism from industry bodies who have accused the police of failing to curb the violence.
Kekana said April and September recorded the highest number of killings.
“In April alone, 22 cases were reported and 18 people lost their lives. Eight suspects were arrested; one is still in custody and seven are out on bail,” he said.
“In September, we had 18 incidents and 23 deaths. Nine suspects were arrested. Five dockets were taken to court. Two suspects remain in custody and seven are [out] on bail. We lost 85 people in this period,” he said.
We have opened the doors for SAPS, but when we give them information, it never goes to the right place; tomorrow it’s another killing. Many people are now afraid to come forward.
— Stemmer Monageng of Gauteng National Taxi Alliance
Taxi organisations used the platform to directly confront the police, accusing them of mishandling cases, late responses to shootings and a failure to act on credible intelligence provided by the industry.
Gauteng National Taxi Alliance representative Stemmer Monageng said operators have lost trust in the SAPS. “We have opened the doors for SAPS, but when we give them information, it never goes to the right place; tomorrow it’s another killing. Many people are now afraid to come forward.”
Monageng said taxi operators often know who is behind the violence but fear that sharing information with police could put them at risk.
“Your information does not go to the correct place; it goes somewhere else. Then another person gets killed. This makes us hold back, because we don’t know who to trust with our intelligence.”
South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) Gauteng representative Graham Fritz added that the taxi industry is facing a complete breakdown in law enforcement. “Enforcement is not coming to assist us,” he said.
According to Fritz, even when shootings occur, police officers seldom arrive on time.
“A typical example is when there are shootings; we call them immediately. They don’t even come to the scene. They’ll come two or three days later and just ask what happened. And once they are gone, nothing happens to the docket.”
He also claimed that confidential intelligence shared by taxi structures gets leaked.
“We give them private intelligence, confidential intelligence. Then we find out that the people who committed these acts somehow receive the information. We don’t know where the leak is. Cases get withdrawn, or people are killed before they are arrested,” Fritz said.
He said the core driver of taxi violence was the misallocation of routes. According to Fritz, two associations would be allocated the same route.
“Then we fight because money is involved. Money is the root of all evil, and that is what fuels this conflict.”
Responding to the accusations, Kekana said many of the underlying disputes fall outside SAPS’s mandate, particularly licensing and governance failures within taxi associations.
“They fight for routes, they fight for ranks, they fight for positions. These are conflicts within their organisations,” he said. “Some disputes relate to licensing, which belongs with the regulator, not the police.”
Kekana said police also face non-cooperation at crime scenes. “When incidents happen, nobody wants to share information with us. Even when people are present during the shooting, they all say they know nothing. That is our biggest challenge,” he said.
Kekana added that most attacks happen on public roads, not within taxi ranks, making them harder to police.
Despite the tensions, both police and taxi associations agreed that sustained collaboration, restructuring of the licensing system and improved intelligence handling were essential to stop the killings.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.