Fear is rising among commuters relying on minibus taxis after a woman was shot dead and two others were seriously injured while boarding a minibus taxi in Philippi on Monday.
This comes after five taxi operators belonging to the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) were shot in three separate incidents in Nyanga and Delft on Tuesday, 30 January. Three died and two are recovering in the hospital, according to the Daily Maverick.
Also read: Concerns rise over violence following shooting of Cape Town taxi owners
According to preliminary information, the taxi was loading passengers on the corner of Sheffield and Eisleben Roads when unknown gunmen armed with rifles opened fire on the vehicle before fleeing.
‘A lady in her mid-thirties succumbed to gunshot wounds in her upper body whole two other passengers, a male and a female, were rushed to a medical facility to receive treatment for a gunshot wound sustained to the face and back respectively,’ said police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie.
Pojie added that the driver managed to flee the scene; no arrests have been made yet and an investigation is underway.
Also on Monday morning, a 46-year-old taxi driver was shot dead at a red traffic light on the corner of Klipfontein and Borcherds Quarry Road.
He was sitting in a stationary Toyota Quantum when unknown gunmen in a white Toyota Avanza opened fire on the vehicle before fleeing the scene.
‘The deceased was later declared dead on the scene by medical personnel. He succumbed to multiple shots to his upper body,’ said Pojie. ‘No arrests have been made yet.’
There were no passengers in the vehicle.
These incidents come off the back of several taxi-related shootings that saw at least 16 people shot and seven murdered over the past month, with some commuters questioning whether another taxi war has begun.
While CATA could not confirm the reason behind the recent spate of violent incidents, reports speculate that it may be linked to internal fights within the organisation.
According to IOL, the association said they had pulled some taxis from Philippi, Samora Machel and Delft due to the shootings.
The incidents have shocked the association, according to CATA spokesperson Nkululeko Sityebi.
‘We came from the December holidays and then we saw our drivers and operators being killed. We are now asking if we are safe because we don’t know who is doing what and for what reason,’ the publication quoted Sityebi as saying.
‘We can confirm that all of this is happening on one route that is under CATA, which is Seawater.’
Sityebi added that the taxis were not operating at full capacity.
‘It could be that CATA is also under attack. I cannot guarantee the safety of the commuters, only the police can help with that because we don’t know where the threat comes from,’ Sityebi said.
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Picture: @2oceansvibe / X