At least, not less than five people, including a British medical doctor have been killed in a week-long protest by taxi drivers in the Cape Town city of South Africa.
The strike started with the introduction of new municipal law which grants local authorities the power to impound vehicles of drivers without driving license, vehicles without registration plates as well as those who drive without wearing seatbelts.
As a result of the new law which the drivers claimed have had negative effects on their livelihood, The South African Taxi Council has thereafter made unsuccessful efforts to resolve the issues with the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The Taxi drivers’ council then reportedly called for a one-week strike beginning on 1st August, 2023 which has brought about protests that later turned out to become violent as the protesters reportedly soon became aggressive after authorities cleared a road on Monday 7th August, 2023 and impounded 53 minibus taxis.
In a statement, the police have said “individuals have set fire to buses and cars, blocked roadways, destroyed properties and thrown rocks”.
Not less than five people have been killed so far with properties worth of millions destroyed. The height of the killing was the murder of a 40-year old British medical doctor who was shot severally in Ntlangano Crescent, Nyanga township near the new Cape Town international airport in the presence of his family.
However, the South African National Taxi council has condemned the violence, claiming its members were not behind it.
“We are especially aggrieved by the perception of the public that we are lawless. The perception is been fuelled by protesters and not members of our organization”, a statement credited to the council read.
Meanwhile, police said that about 120 people have been arrested so far for offences that bother on “malicious damage to property, public violence and looting”.
