The event was held with armed men on guard hired by the taxi owners to ensure a peaceful handover of the Dzumeri Taxi Rank. However, due to infighting among the taxi owners in the area, the mayor did hand the new taxi rank to a particular association; she instead handed it over to the chief, Hosi Dzumeri, with the understanding that he would pass it on to the relevant taxi association in the area.
Speaking after the handover, the mayor said it was up to the taxi owners to ensure that the facility was clean and safe for commuters at all times. “How you keep this facility cleaned is up to you, but we want it maintained so that it will last longer, hence we will employ a security guard to ensure that the facility is not vandalised,” she said. “You must ensure that this place is safe for commuters, we don’t want to see you shoot each other here and endanger lives,” she added.
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Hosi Dzumeri added to the mayor’s plea of safeguarding the lives of the commuters, saying the taxi rank was very close to residences and violence would affect them. “When you start shooting at each other, make sure you don’t point your guns this way,” he joked, pointing his hand to his home situated at the back of the taxi rank. The deputy chairperson of the Dzumeri Taxi Association, Khawurisa Richard Malungani confirmed the infighting but phrased it as if it was normal and necessary in order to achieve their goal.
According to him, fighting ensures that things run smoothly and according to the law. “It was not easy, but we had to fight for it. I remember at some point the mayor even threatened to withdraw the funds for this taxi rank if we didn’t stop infighting, but eventually, we made it,” he said without divulging what they were fighting for or who they were fighting against. “This rank belongs to Dzumeri and we had to ensure that it remains that way,” he added as he welcomed the handover from the mayor.
