A security guard was killed and seven others injured in a taxi-related shooting in Nyanga on Tuesday, prompting calls for increased police presence as schools reopen.
Provincial police commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, confirmed a shootout at the public transport interchange at about 6am.
The individuals shot were not community members but belonged to rival factions within the taxi organisation, Patekile said.
“The shootout was at the taxi rank and was between two warring parties within the same taxi organisation. It resulted in injuries and one person dying.
“Seven people were left critically injured and were transported to hospital. We had our combat teams, and we prevented what could have been worse during this shooting.
“We confiscated 20 firearms, 13 of those are rifles and seven are pistols. We have taken 19 people in for questioning and they belong to certain security companies. They are not from here but from other provinces, we will continue following up on how they landed here.”
Police saturated the area and other hotspots with deployments as scores of commuters were left stranded as a result of the shooting.
“The investigation is currently in the hands of the provincial taxi task team. Engagement with Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) is ongoing in efforts to determine the legality of the firearms and the security companies they work for.”
Patekile said more members will remain in the vicinity to ensure commuter safety.
“The people shot are not community members but are part of the groups at war. Part of it would be extortion because it is about money, as they call it, it’s bucket money, we are going to investigate.
“We thank God that there were no school children at the time of the shooting and that our teams were at the taxi rank in the early hours of Tuesday morning.”
The Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association said the safety of commuters is their primary concern and called for more boots on the ground.
The association’s spokesperson, Nkululeko Sityebi, said they require more police visibility as thousands of learners return to school on Wednesday morning.
“The safety of our commuters will always remain our primary concern. We don’t know what happened and how this shooting happened. We are also concerned about the children who are going back to school. We are looking into the root cause of the shooting.
“We condemn this shooting and our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased, (we) wish the injured a speedy recovery. This is a very bad note to start the year. We hope the suspects will be brought to book so the police can investigate who is behind it.
“We request visibility of the police around the terminus, commuters can’t protect themselves, only they can do that. We can confirm our readiness to transport learners.”
Nyanga Community police forum secretary, Dumisani Qwebe, said they will call a meeting with relevant stakeholders to discuss the brewing taxi war.
“The government should closely examine the shootings that occur frequently between January and February each year. Last year in February, three men were killed.
“When they shoot at the terminus, kids and teachers are affected and they find themselves as victims. We can’t predict when the shootings will happen and they could be hit in a crossfire. There are four schools that are close to the taxi rank.”
Cape Times