Reprieve has come for the communities of Atlantis, Saxonwold, and Witsand after the Western Cape High Court on Friday issued an interdict against several taxi associations and individuals, aimed at preventing transport-related intimidation and illegal operations.
The instability in the area comes in the wake of a taxi violence incident, where a shooting outside a local high school claimed two lives.
On February 25, local businessman and taxi owner Eugene Titus and a 14-year-old Grade 8 girl were killed in the shooting that rang out outside Atlantis Senior Secondary. Two other school pupils were injured in the same shooting.
The Atlantis taxi industry has since experienced severe instability, which necessitated the intervention by the High Court, which was launched by Western Cape Mobility MEC, Isaac Sileku.
The interdict is directed at the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata), Saxonwold Local Taxi Association, Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta), Atlantis Taxi Association, CODETA Khayelitsha Killarney Local Taxi Association, and nine named individuals.
The court order specifically applies to areas where incidents of interference have been reported, including:
- Potsdam Public Transport Interchange and taxi rank.
- Atlantis CBD taxi rank.
- Westfleur Circle in Avondale.
- Witsand informal taxi rank in the Saxonwold area.
The court order prohibits the respondents, including their officials, employees, and drivers, from interfering with any form of public or private transport. This includes a ban on assaulting, intimidating, or threatening drivers, operators, or staff of other taxi associations or transport services.
Enquiries to Cata and Codeta were not answered on Saturday.
Sileku welcomed the interdict order and said the intervention reinforces the rule of law and prioritises the safety of residents, who rely on these routes every day.
“We recognise that legal interventions can sometimes create uncertainty for residents in the short term. However, this interdict sends a clear message that intimidation and violence will not be tolerated. Our priority is ensuring that residents of Atlantis and surrounding communities can travel to work and school safely…
“We remain committed to working with all operators who respect the law and place the safety of residents first. Those who resort to intimidation or violence will face the full consequences of the law,” said Sileku.
The taxi organisations and individuals in the court papers were directed to comply with the conditions of the operating licences issued to them, which are to offer public transport services.
They are prohibited from rendering any taxi-related minibus service, to and from Atlantis, without having been issued with operating licences to offer such services.
The taxi organisations were also directed to, within 24 hours of the order being issued, take all reasonable steps to ensure that members desist from unlawful conduct and, by March 16, submit a written report to the State Attorney on what steps were taken to comply with the order.
Meanwhile, since the murders in Atlantis, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the city is offering a R100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the taxi-related deaths in Atlantis.
Chevon Booysen
iol.co.za