Police keep strong presence in Soweto after attacks on e-hailing drivers

Police are investigating a case of attempted murder and malicious damage to property following a dispute between taxi drivers and e-hailing drivers at Maponya Mall, Soweto, on Thursday night.

“It is reported that on the evening of 1 June 2023, the taxi drivers attacked the alleged e-hailing drivers. Three vehicles were burned and the owners were assaulted and one of them shot. All three victims were taken to a local hospital,” said Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo. 

Police said four more vehicles were damaged in the attacks.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Report finds rogue associations and outdated systems fuel taxi conflict

One Uber driver who spoke to Daily Maverick from Soweto on Sunday warned that e-hailing drivers would retaliate against the taxi industry following the attacks.

“Already, yesterday, you could see they were not working. There were no taxis at the rank. We prevented them from operating. In our country, we share whatever size of bread is on the table but the taxi guys want to eat alone,” said the driver, who asked for his name to be withheld.

“The conflict has been brewing for years and attacks never stopped. It’s nothing but greed, a fight for customers,” he said. 

Uber driver Nkosinathi Khanyile said he had never experienced intimidation from taxi drivers, but knew many colleagues who had.

“They want to eat alone. When the customers dry up they panic and look for low-hanging fruit to pick instead of understanding the business and waiting like the rest of us. It’s time for pushback. We all have families to feed,” said Khanyile.

Gauteng Transport MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela said: “We would like to strongly condemn these senseless attacks on individuals and damage to vehicles. These acts are unacceptable and must be dealt with harshly. We will not be deterred from building an integrated and modernised public transport system by individuals who use intimidation and violence to put their message across.”

The spokesperson for the provincial Department of Transport, Lesiba Mpya, failed to respond to questions about what the department was doing about the violence at Maponya Mall. 

Several summits and indabas have been arranged to solve the warfare in the transport sector in Gauteng. A 2019 summit concluded with a commitment to peace, but a permanent solution to the matter remains elusive. 

Regulation in the taxi and e-hailing sectors has been a major issue, which was also broadly dealt with by the Taxi Violence Commission and in its report, released in February 2021.

'A national issue of great concern'

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