Unclear if killing of three is linked to taxi conflict

THE Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) said the killing of three of its taxi operators at the Joe Slovo taxi rank in Dunoon yesterday should not be seen as an indication of war between it and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta).

Cata secretary Mandla Hermanus said the incident has shocked them. However, they were not going to speculate on the motive behind the killings.

Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said the police were called out to the crime scene at 9am, where they found the bodies of three men with gunshot wounds.

“A fourth person who was also shot and wounded in the incident, was taken to a medical facility for treatment,” said Potelwa.

She said the police had opened murder and attempted murder dockets for investigation.

The ages of the deceased were estimated to be between 27 and 40.

“Their identities are yet to be determined. Preliminary findings are that the incident was linked to taxi conflict,” she said.

“We are committed to finding peaceful solutions to our problems, so that we may provide safe and reliable transport to the communities that we serve,” said Hermanus.

Codeta spokesperson Andile Khanyi said he was not aware of the incident at the time but said he would ask his colleagues.

SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) provincial spokesperson Gershon Geyer said they were not clear at this stage if the incident was taxi related.

Transport and Public Works Department spokesperson Jandré Bakker said the department continually engaged the industry leadership in order to find solutions to the problem.

Bakker said the safety of every transport user was their top priority.

The department, through mechanisms at its disposal, would however not hesitate to revoke operating licences and close routes or ranks if the lives of commuters were deemed to be at risk.

“This will have a significant impact on commuters. We urge industry leadership to assist the police with their investigations and to restore calm in the taxi industry for the sake of commuters,” said Bakker.

Anyone with information that could assist in the investigation is urged to anonymously contact the Crime Stop number 08600 10111 or supply it via the MySAPSApp.