It turns out the taxi boss caught driving a police van and using a police radio was involved in pressuring long-distance bus operators to cease competing with minibus taxis.
Also read: High-profile taxi boss appears in court on several charges
The amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism revealed that Bonke Makalala played a key role in taxi formations’ efforts to compel long-distance bus operators to cease competing with minibus taxis.
Makalala has been associated with charges including extortion, fraud, intimidation, murder, attempted murder, and possession of an unlicensed firearm in Cape Town and surrounds. In recent months, he has made appearances in the Wynberg, Blue Downs, and Simon’s Town Magistrates’ Courts.
Provincial commanders of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) previously stated they found no evidence linking repeated attacks on Intercape buses to organised crime.
However, Intercape presented evidence showing Makalala conveyed demands from taxi bosses to bus operators at a meeting with bus operators in March 2022, urging them to raise prices and make concessions to end violence and intimidation.
In February, the Eastern Cape High Court ruled that the ongoing attacks on Intercape buses hadn’t been properly investigated. The court then ordered the police to conduct a thorough investigation, overseen by both the court and the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate (ID).
However, instead of reviewing Intercape’s evidence, the SAPS and the NPA decided to appeal the ruling.
Makalala, from Tsolo in the Eastern Cape, was arrested in Pretoria last December for alleged crimes from 2018 and 2019. He’s currently in custody awaiting a bail decision, facing charges including murder, attempted murder, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. He denies all accusations.
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Court documents state that on 28 March 2022, Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira and other long-distance bus operators met with representatives from several taxi associations, including Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata), Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta), Uncedo, and Gauteng Taxi Association, in East London.
Ferreira, under oath, stated that during the meeting led by Makalala, taxi representatives insisted that the only way to resolve issues was for long-distance bus operators to agree to certain terms.
He said Makalala allegedly wrote these terms on a whiteboard, which included raising ticket prices to R1 000, limiting daily buses, and stopping in fewer Eastern Cape towns.
Ferreira says he did not agree to these terms.
He mentioned in his affidavit that photographs of Makalala presenting the demands, along with other images from the meeting, were given to the SAPS and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, as well as a recording of the meeting.
In April 2022, Ferreira agreed to meet with one of the attendees from the East London meeting, identified as ‘Hamilton’, who represented the Gauteng Taxi Association.
Makalala also allegedly joined this meeting, which was held at Menlyn Main in Pretoria. Here, Ferreira claims he was informed that if Intercape paid an undisclosed amount, the restrictions imposed by taxi associations would be lifted. In another meeting where Makalala wasn’t present, Ferreira alleges that a figure of R5 million was mentioned.
Despite the pressure, Intercape stood firm. However, due to the violence, they were compelled to cease operations in towns designated as ‘no-go zones’ by the taxi bosses.
‘The criminals who are behind these attacks are profiting from their reign of terror…first, by demanding extortion payments from long-distance bus companies against the threat of ongoing violent attacks; and second, by preventing long-distance bus companies from operating in certain areas and thereby eliminating any competition for taxi associations within the long-distance transport industry,’ he told the court.
According to Ferreira, Makalala started his own bus company, Makalala Trans, to serve the ‘no-go zones’ where Intercape had stopped operating during the second half of 2022.
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On his company website, Makalala states that he owns 17 taxis and four buses, as well as 42 employees. His buses operate between Cape Town and Mthatha, and the company is headquartered in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape.
‘Makalala Trans is operating at least some of its buses without valid operating licences. Two Makalala Trans buses were impounded on 30 July 2022 and 2 December 2022,’ Ferreira alleged.
‘These impoundments, however, were immediately followed with what appear to be retaliatory attacks on Intercape.
‘These attacks also make it clear that Makalala Trans’s strategy of violence will not only be implemented to establish itself in the market but will be used to squash any opposition and remove any competition,’ he added.
Ferreira also stated that taxi operators started a WhatsApp group chat which included representatives of the bus companies to oversee compliance with their demands.
They also allegedly shared information about a bank account where long-distance bus operators were instructed to make ‘donations’ towards the travel expenses of the taxi representatives.
‘I suspect that this is the same account that would be used by taxi representatives to receive any payment of extortion money from bus operators,’ Ferreira said.
He suggests that although it’s difficult to directly link the taxi bosses to the violent incidents, considering the broader demands from taxi associations, these attacks appear to be part of a larger pattern of racketeering activity under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).
Ferreira further claims that Makalala’s actions, in particular, seem to meet the criteria for an offence under Poca.
He stated that Makalala seemed to benefit either directly from protection money paid as ‘donations’ by bus operators or indirectly from profits generated by his own bus business, which he ‘obtained by using violence to push other operators (including Intercape) out of certain areas [to] create a monopoly for his services’.
In December last year, two Nyanga-based police officers were arrested in connection to Makalala’s unauthorised use of a state vehicle. As per Daily Maverick, both were released on bail.
On the evening of 25 February, one of them was killed in the Masiphumelele informal settlement when gunmen opened fire. Another person was also killed during the incident, and two others were seriously injured.
Although the motive for the shooting is still unclear, one unconfirmed report alleged that the officer was due to testify against Makalaka.
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Picture: SA Taxi / Facebook