Claims of death threats and vandalism over lucrative advertising space on billboards at the Bara taxi rank in Soweto have emerged in a court battle involving Outsmart Outdoor Advertising, Primedia Outdoor and others.
In court papers filed earlier this month in the Johannesburg high court, Joyleen Mahanetsa, the owner and director of Outsmart Outdoor, claims the advertising space she was granted at the rank by the City of Joburg municipality has been illegally taken over by Primedia.
She claims in the papers — in which Primedia is cited as first respondent, Bara City Taxi Owners Association as second respondent and City of Joburg as third respondent — that this happened following the illegal removal of her company’s advertising structures and ad material placed at the taxi rank.
Mahanetsa says that because of the removal and vandalism of her structures, she was at high risk of losing clients that include MTN, Old Mutual, McDonald’s, FNB and the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).
“Given that the [taxi] association has, by its own written admission, been responsible for the taking down of the applicant’s advertising structures and advertisements at the taxi rank, it is likely that it approached Primedia to market advertising at the taxi rank. Thus, the association is joined in the urgent relief sought against Primedia,” the papers say.
Primedia Outdoor CEO Dave Roberts said Primedia had been invited by the taxi association to explore an opportunity to advertise at the Bara taxi rank, but had not used the opportunity.
“Primedia explored the viability of this but has since decided to place the matter on hold following Outsmart having elected to institute legal proceedings against Primedia as well as a number of other parties.
“Our legal team is studying the papers served on us in consideration of our response, but upon a quick reading of the papers it appears Outsmart approached the court to enforce purported contractual rights at the rank which they claim to enjoy.
“Primedia only became aware of the vandalism issue via correspondence from Outsmart and is not aware of any alleged instances of vandalism.
“Primedia is obviously not involved in any such alleged activities, and also does not know who is responsible for such alleged acts (to the extent that they may have occurred) which we do not know,” said Roberts.
Mahanetsa said the municipality has a contractual obligation to protect her company against a violation of its rights by Primedia and the taxi association.
Outsmart’s contract with the city was for 2010 to 2014, but since then there have been month-to-month agreements, and according to Mahanetsa’s papers a 36-month transitional agreement was agreed to in June 2019.
“I emphasise that the applicant is not in illegal occupation of the taxi rank. The applicant has the sole contractual right to install advertising structures and display media at the taxi rank,” say Mahanetsa’s papers.
On November 9, the respondents filed their intention to oppose the application.
The taxi association and the municipality did not respond to requests for comment.
In her court papers, Mahanetsa details how from June 12 she was told that her company’s advertising structures at the taxi rank were being taken down or damaged. This was subsequently stopped by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) after she asked for their intervention.
“When JMPD and I confronted [those] we found on site who were dismantling the advertising structures of the applicant, they told us that they had been sent by the [taxi] association as well as a Sakhile Mazizi to remove the applicant’s advertising structures, which were to be replaced by advertisements for DStv,” Mahanetsa says.
She claims the taxi association told her that her contract with the municipality had expired and she should “pack up and remove” her billboards as the advertising at the rank had been taken over by the association.
Mahanetsa said this was followed by a death threat. “I received another call from a certain Lucky Danger, who told me to pack and remove all my things out of the taxi rank business and to stop operating from the taxi rank or else he would kill me. He said he knew where I reside and all my movements. I proceeded to open a case of intimidation against Lucky Danger,” she said.
