CAPE TOWN, Aug 7 – Cape Town’s public transport system has been paralysed by a minibus taxi strike that in a violent turn has seen two people killed, police said Monday, while leaving thousands of commuters stranded.
Drivers of minibus taxis, the main mode of transport for millions of working class South Africans, have blocked multiple roads in a strike that began on Thursday as a result of clashes with city authorities.
The British High Commission in South Africa on Monday issued a notice on Facebook in response to the unrest, advising travellers to delay driving “to and from the airport until the route is cleared” as “GPS services could divert you into less secure areas or into ongoing protests”.
The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) called for the action last week over a new municipal by-law that gives the city the power to impound vehicles over offences such as driving without a licence, not displaying registration plates or overloading.
Tensions boiled over after 15 minibuses were impounded on Tuesday.
Thousands of stranded commuters piled up at bus and taxi stations across the city on Thursday, with hundreds opting to walk home late into the night while others slept at the stations as incidents of violence erupted.
On Friday night, a police officer was shot and killed in a vehicle in a township 20 kilometres southeast of Cape Town while on patrol.
“(The) possibility that the attack is related to the ongoing taxi-strike cannot be ruled out,” police said as the officers were “performing crime prevention patrols to quell taxi related incidents”.
In an update on Monday, police said, “An individual was shot dead and three others injured after a motorist was pelted with stones” on the road leading to the city’s airport.
SANTACO, who claim that 6,000 vehicles had been impounded since the beginning of the year, said they have been “left with no other option” due to “the frivolous impoundment operations run by government”.
“It is clear that there has been a level of premeditation in the actions we’ve witnessed over the past few days,” local government said in a statement on Monday.
“There have also been clear attempts to target City staff and infrastructure” it said.
The city said two government vehicles had been torched and one hijacked, in addition to four incidents of torching and stoning of private vehicles and shootings.
After failed negotiations at the weekend between SANTACO and government, it announced the action would continue until Wednesday.
