Pretoria - The SA National Taxi Council’s Tshwane Regional Council has joined forces with other taxi associations to activate its Peace Force Team.
The activation of the joint effort kicked off yesterday at the Bosman taxi rank, and follows the gunning down of two taxi drivers in separate incidents last Friday.
The drivers were transporting passengers between Joburg and Pretoria. Both were killed while leaving the taxi rank with passengers – one in the morning and the other later that day.
The identities of the two drivers have not yet been revealed to the media, but the association said it will be visiting the families of the victims today, to offer condolences.
Santaco spokesperson MacDonald Makata said the loss of lives was a huge concern, and they could not fold their arms while their drivers lost their lives while on duty.
Taxi associations do a stop and search for all taxis leaving Bosman taxi rank in a bid to make sure all passengers and drivers are safe as Santaco activates its Peace Force Team. @SA_Taxis #Taxis @CityTshwane pic.twitter.com/F6INlaSqb3
— Pretoria News (@pretorianews) February 28, 2022
“We only talk peace, and we say to those who are trigger happy, what they are doing is severe damage to an industry already bleeding because of Covid-19.
“We cannot afford to lose members to gun violence, if there are differences they should be addressed amicably.”
He said although the incident happened in Johannesburg, the affected taxi association was affiliated to Santaco.
Makata urged passengers and witnesses who were there when the incidents occurred to come forward so that the association can pay for their counselling.
He said it was unclear what had sparked the shootings as the route did not have any problems or conflicts.
“It is only an inter-metro operation, they do not go to any suburbs. We are still left with questions as to what led to this. As far as I know, there are no conflicts on this route.”
It remains unclear if the drivers were shot by one of the passengers or someone from the outside.
Makata said the Bosman taxi rank and Jerusalem in Marabastad had been identified as hotspots for now.
“We want all passengers and drivers to safely leave the taxi ranks as all these incidents happen inside taxi ranks.”
As part of the peace effort, a stop and search operation will be implemented at taxi ranks to ensure the safety of passengers.
All passengers and taxis will be searched before leaving the ranks.
“We had other incidents where passengers robbed others in taxis along routes. A stop and search will be implemented to make sure that there are no surprises along the route.”
Makata said they had requested a meeting with the executive committee of the association to understand if there were any internal squabbles they should be aware of.
Spokesperson of the Johannesburg Pretoria Mabopane route Sylvia Mathiba said they wanted to support and ensure that drivers continued with their work.
“We do not know what exactly transpired on the day the two drivers died, but the other drivers need to know that we are here for them, and hopefully something like this will not happen again.”
Pretoria News