A tense and disruptive confrontation between Cape Town traffic officials and taxi drivers resulted in significant road congestion on Tuesday.
What caused the Cape Town taxi drivers clash with traffic cops?
Several minibuses were impounded during the altercation, leading to a stand-off that caused chaos in the area.
Taxi Drivers Block Rank Access
As disgruntled taxi drivers reacted to the impoundments, they prevented their fellow drivers from accessing the rank, exacerbating the gridlock situation.
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Things escalated further when police, accompanied by metro officers, used stun grenades to disperse the protesting taxi drivers.
According to City’s safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith, live rounds were also fired at the officers, intensifying the clash.
Roads Reopened After Police Intervention
By Tuesday evening, authorities managed to regain control of the situation, and the roads were reopened. Taxis returned to the rank, resuming their operations to transport waiting passengers.
However, the incident left lingering tensions between the taxi drivers and law enforcement officers.
Arrests Made to Restore Stability
The Public Order Police and law enforcement officers were called in to stabilise the situation and restore order. In the process, some of the protesters involved in the stand-off were arrested and are currently being processed.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie stated that officers would remain vigilant to monitor and address any further unrest.
Thandukosi Peter, a working committee member of the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association, told News24 that they are still investigating the incident.
He highlighted that six drivers were arrested during the altercation. Peter voiced the association’s dissatisfaction with the City of Cape Town traffic by-laws, advocating for fines instead of vehicle impoundment for driver offences.
Suspension of Taxi Council Participation
Amidst the clashes, the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) announced the suspension of its participation in the Minibus Taxi Task Team.
The decision came due to two reasons: “increased and continuous impoundments of vehicles” and the “lack of progress on issues tabled.”
The Task Team, which involves representatives from the provincial government and the City, alongside industry leadership, met on Monday despite Santaco’s withdrawal.
The Western Cape government and the City released a joint statement expressing their openness to engage with Santaco.
MEC for Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie emphasised the need to prioritise passengers and reassure taxi operators of ongoing efforts to address their concerns.
“While we hope that Santaco will return to the collaborative table, the fact remains that commuter safety is our core priority, and we cannot bend on matters that directly compromise safety. The vast majority of impoundments are for driver behaviour that catches the attention of law enforcement officers,” Mackenzie said.
Check out some of the videos of the clashes between Cape Town taxi drivers and traffic cops below:
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