On Monday, residents watched on in horror as large crowds of rioters linked to the Cape Town taxi strike were caught on camera looting the Gugulethu Shopping Mall.
UPDATE: While law enforcement officials have been deployed to confront alleged looters in Gugulethu, Delft residents vandalised a local shopping hub, torched vehicles parked in the area and allegedly made off with stolen goods. The situation was still unfolding when this article was updated. See videos below.
Watch: Gugulethu Mall looting caught on camera
Following a stalemate in negotiations between the government and taxi associations, the strike action led by the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) resumed on Monday, with fiery clashes reported in several hotspot areas.
Local authorities, seemingly outnumbered and spread thin due to the spurts of violence breaking out in various parts of the Cape’s eastern periphery, were alerted of brewing chaos in Gugulethu, where rioters were filmed looting shops inside Gugulethu Mall.
In a statement, provincial law enforcement officials confirmed riot police have been deployed to quell “incidents of looting at shopping malls in Gugulethu, Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni & Kraaifontein”
“Reports suggest that protestors have violently entered shops and fled with household appliances, clothing and liquor,” the police noted in a statement.
While the identities of the perpetrators involved in the looting have yet to be verified, gob-smacked onlookers who caught footage of the chaos unfolding in Gugulethu swore the rioters were linked to the Cape Town taxi strike.
Check out some of the videos that have surfaced on social media below:
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The latest updates from the City of Cape Town suggest law enforcement officials are ploughing through evidence related to more than 110 open criminal cases linked to the taxi strike.
On Monday morning, at approximately 04:35, a motorist carrying passengers was ambushed by a group of taxi rioters and, in response, he opened fire at the crowd, killing one and injuring at least four others.
In a statement, City of Cape Town MEC for Community Safety and Police Oversight Reagan Allen confirmed that more than 40 taxis were impounded and similar arrests were made in the standoff between taxi drivers and law enforcement at the Airport Approach blockade on Monday morning.
“At this stage, approximately 1 500 various law enforcement officers have been deployed. This is inclusive of an additional 300 public order policing South Africa Police Service members,” Allen revealed at the time.
This is a developing story.
Follow live Cape Town traffic updates and incident reports related to the Cape Town taxi strike on Swisher Post.
