Based in Kathorus, these two taxi associations are allegedly fighting over routes.
This taxi war has left the community stranded, unable to commute from Zonkizizwe to Katlehong and other nearby townships.
DA Katlehong political head Lebo More said the schoolchildren who used to use taxis to commute to Katlehong from Zonkizizwe and those coming from the opposite direction are now forced to walk to school.
“Zonkizizwe is one of the underprivileged townships in Ekurhuleni, with no shopping centres, malls or filling stations. The community is dependent on Katlehong for shopping, but now they have to walk to Katlehong, which is a long distance to walk to buy food and walk back again carrying heavy bags,” said More.
The road from Zonkizizwe to Katlehong runs through a veld and poses a safety risk to the community, More added.
More said the war has also resulted in taxi members killing each other, adding that crime is rife.
“As the DA we are calling upon the Ekurhuleni mayor, Mzwandile Masina, and Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport MEC Ismail Vadi to intervene to ensure that they resolve this taxi war that is affecting the lives of the residents.
“The City of Ekurhuleni should ensure that there are adequate means of public transport available for its residents by developing a transport hub.
“By so doing it will stimulate the local economy by attracting more investors to this poor township,” More said.
Kathorus MAIL contacted an anonymous source in the taxi industry who confirmed that killings had taken place.
“The situation is bad. It started when a Zota member was gunned downed in Vosloorus. The situation became worse after the community liaison officer, a woman for Zota, was shot to death in Zonkizizwe,” said the source.
The two killings occurred in December last year.
Asked for comment, Constable Sivenkosi Mtwa, the communications official at the Katlehong SAPS, said: “Katlehong SAPS does not handle taxi violence cases at the station. Such cases are dealt with at provincial level, where they have a unit that is meant to deal with them.
“Immediately after receiving a report on taxi violence, we send it to the provincial office to deal with.”
