Taxi owners confront builder over staff transport

A DURBAN businessman who was allegedly harassed by a group of taxi drivers and armed security officers as he picked up his staff at King Dinuzulu (Botha’s) Park last week, said he had feared for his safety.

The man, who owns Miljak Home Maintenance and asked not to be named, said at around 6.55am last Thursday he arrived to pick up his staff at the park, something he had done for almost five years without any trouble, when he was approached by taxi drivers who told him he was not allowed to fetch his men from that spot.

“My staff come from Umlazi and Pinetown. This is an easy place for them to meet me, but on Thursday I was looking for a parking to fetch my workers when a man came up to me and asked if I was from the harbour. I said no, and carried on parking. Then the same man came up to me again, this time with a security guard armed with a semi-automatic rifle, and told me I couldn’t fetch my staff from there as that they had a permit for the area. I told him I didn’t understand what he was saying and was feeling frustrated. When two of my guys tried to get on the bakkie, they were told to move away. They felt very intimidated as they are wary of guns,” he said.

When he pointed out that it was a public road and he had every right to stop there, the situation started to get heated.

“It’s difficult when you are confronted by an armed man! I was told to talk to ‘the boss’, so I decided to calm down and got out to speak to him. A couple of other guys who fetch their workers there were also waiting to speak to this man, so I was told to speak to someone else. Eventually I was understood what was going on. The taxi owners were saying they have a permit to pick up people in Durban and that they wanted me to pick my guys up from somewhere else in Glenwood after they had transported my staff to the spot from the park,” he said.

The men then demanded that he pay them R3 000 to take his workers from the spot. He explained that he was a builder and that if he gave them the money, he wouldn’t be able to pay his workers.

“It was quite daunting as there were three armed guards and a couple of the taxi guys had guns. I tried to take a photo with my cellphone, but four guys physically manhandled me and took my phone out of my pocket, threatening to break it. They were pushing and shoving me and eventually deleted the photo. I was just more concerned about getting out of there and for the safety of my workers,” he said.

When he left the scene, the business owner said he approached the duty officer at Umbilo SAPS who said the area did not fall under Umbilo’s jurisdiction. After contacting Berea SAPS, he was told to report the matter to Durban Central.

“My wife spent hours on the phone and was told I had to report the incident to a satellite station near the taxi rank. On Friday, when I went to fetch my workers from a different spot a little way away from the park, I noticed Metro Police presence at Botha’s Park,” he said.

The man said he spoke to a Metro officer on the scene who said one of the business owners who had also been harassed the previous day had reported the incident.

“The officer said it happened from time to time, and that this was not the first incident. I was pleased to see the massive Metro Police presence on Friday, and on Monday the Metro police were on scene again, stopping taxis,” he said.

Berea Mail contacted provincial SAPS for comment and was told by Lt Colonel Zwane that they were not aware of any complaints.

“The complainant can go to Durban Central or Umbilo Police Station to report his concerns to the station commander,” he said.

Although Metro Police confirmed with the business owner that this was not the first time such an incident had been reported, when approached for official comment, eThekwini Municipality’s communications department referred the matter back to SAPS.

“This is obviously an alleged criminal act and the query should be directed to the South African Police Service,” they said.

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