CAPE TOWN – Two women were killed and eight people wounded when gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying taxi association members at Nyanga Taxi Rank on Wednesday, reigniting concerns over escalating taxi-related violence in the Western Cape.
The shooting occurred when Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) members were ambushed while traveling to an association meeting at Airport Industria. Unknown assailants reportedly emerged from a bakkie and fired multiple rounds at the chartered Virgo bus.
“This incident has left us with many questions now,” said Dumisani Qwebe, secretary of the Nyanga Community Policing Forum (CPF). “We are wondering if this taxi-related violence in the province will ever end.”
The attack has prompted renewed calls for government intervention, with the Nyanga CPF expressing doubts that taxi wars will cease without increased law enforcement deployment and official mediation efforts.
“It is important for government officials, when mediating between the taxi associations, to involve community members because we are the ones most affected by it all,” Qwebe said.
Provincial police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirmed that Nyanga officers had opened two murder cases and eight attempted murder cases following the incident. Emergency services treated seven females and one male for gunshot wounds before transporting them to nearby medical facilities.
“According to reports, several unidentified suspects randomly shot at a taxi, injuring several people,” Van Wyk said. The motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
The community leader emphasized the broader economic impact of taxi violence, noting that informal traders, car-wash businesses, and restaurants at taxi ranks suffer when conflicts erupt.
“The government must come up with a permanent solution to this industry because it has a great impact on our local economy,” Qwebe said, calling on taxi operators to resolve their differences through dialogue.
The Nyanga CPF said it would continue mobilszing stakeholders to find lasting solutions to deadly conflicts within the taxi industry.
