By Botho Male
Quick reaction by the Department's Public Transport Inspectorate Unit (PTIU) and South African Police Service (SAPS) was able to defuse a tense situation between members of Witwatersrand African Taxi Owners Association (WATA) and Nancefield-Dube West Taxi Association's (NANDUWE) in Soweto last week.
On Friday, 07 July 2023, PTIU and SAPS members responded to a complaint of a road blockade in Soweto. The incident was sparked by alleged harassment of NANDUWE operators by WATA members next to the Caltex Garage along Klipspruit Valley Road in Orlando, Soweto.
NANDUWE operators claimed they were being harassed by WATA security members who have assaulted and had firearms pointed at them. This included having commuters offloaded from their vehicles. They added WATA security members further restricted them from loading passengers at authorised points, leading to them blocking off the road in protest.
On arrival at the scene, law-enforcement authorities instructed NANDUWE members to clear the road. However, instead of complying with the instruction, NANDUWE members became aggressive and violent towards PTIU and SAPS officers. Faced with a tense situation, officers were then compelled to make use of rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. As a result, a total of fourteen vehicles were impounded, while the rest were cleared from the road.
In an earlier intervention in 2021, the Department obtained a court order interdicting violence between both the associations. According to the interdict obtained from the Johannesburg High Court, the 'chairpersons of both associations and their members are interdicted from preventing, obstructing, or otherwise interfering with the rights of taxi operators and/or any public transport operators to operate their transport businesses between Soweto and Johannesburg CBD'.
Both associations committed to cessation of hostilities, peaceful operations and ensuring transport services in Soweto and Johannesburg were conducted safely. The associations even condemned the violence.
SAPS and PTIU members have managed to restore calm and the situation is currently under control.