South Africa: Nine Taxis Torched in Nyanga

Driver and commuters concerned about resurgence of violent taxi feud

Nine taxis were set alight at the Nyanga rank in Cape Town in the early hours of Friday morning.

This comes nearly a month after a deadly shooting at the rank. A year ago taxis were also set alight at the rank.

The South African Police Service spokesperson Captan FC van Wyk said a case of arson has been opened. The exact cause of the fire is unknown, and no arrests have been made as yet.

Van Wyk said Nyanga officers noticed smoke and went to investigate. They found nine taxis alight. Fire and Rescue Services were alerted to extinguish the fire.

He said police will continue monitoring the area around the rank.

Tension remained high at the rank on Friday.

While taxis still operated to meet the morning peak demand, some taxi drivers and commuters we spoke to said they were on high alert.

One taxi driver, who asked to remain anonymous, believed the fire was started deliberately to disrupt operations at the taxi terminus.

A commuter said they no longer felt safe at the taxi rank because of the fighting between associations. "Every month or two there are incidents here that could affect us as commuters. We are worried that once the taxi rank is closed, it will affect thousands of people. This violence and tension needs to stop."

"Nyanga taxi rank is becoming scary because it is dangerous," another commuter told GroundUp. When she heard about the incident, she walked to another taxi rank, she said.

Nkululeko Sityebi, spokesperson for the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) in Nyanga, condemned the incident. He believes the motive for the torching was to send a message and disrupt operations. "There are people or a syndicate who are behind these arson attacks. Innocent lives are at risk."

"We urge the police to leave no stone unturned until the perpetrators are brought to book. This is causing tensions and fear in the area," he said.

Read the original article on GroundUp.