South Africa: taxi drivers’ turf war

Written by David Fletcher 26 Jul 2018
South Africa: taxi drivers’ turf war

Tensions between groups of taxi drivers vying for the same routes can spill into deadly violence in South Africa. Minibus taxis are the most popular form of transport and violence is common between rival groups vying for dominance on profitable routes. On 21 July gunmen opened fire on a minibus carrying members of a taxi drivers’ association, killing 11 people and critically wounding four others. They had attended a colleague’s funeral, and were returning to Johannesburg when the ambush occurred. In May South African media reported the deaths of ten people, in violence related to rivalries among minibus taxi drivers in Cape Town. In April four taxi drivers were shot dead in the war between two rival Johannesburg taxi associations. Those killings were sparked by the murder of one driver the previous week. Pray for common sense to prevail and end the tit-for-tat murders.

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