Criminals maintain taken advantage of the taxi shutdown by hijacking vehicles, looting shops and burning infrastructure. One of our reporters also witnessed taxi drivers directly taking portion in the violence that enveloped parts of Cape Town on Monday.
The situation is especially volatile in Philippi, where there was a standoff between police and stone throwers. Now and then police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd but people kept coming back and burning tyres on the road.
Stalls around the Philippi Mall and Philippi Plaza gain been looted and damaged. It’s not safe for motorists; passing private cars are being stoned.
“I pleaded for my life” says truck driver
Simon Filander’s truck was burnt to ashes in Philippi.
Filander said he was driving from Nyanga to Mitchells Plain via Philippi when his truck was stoned by a group of more than 100 youths. He said the incident happened at the corners of Emms Drive and Govan Mbeki Road after 9am.
“The people had blocked the road with stones and tyres so I could not speed off. They stoned the truck and shouted that I should stay and access out. I complied. I pleaded for my life and asked them not to afflict me because I gain small children. They asked me to rush and from a distance I could see the car burning,” said Filander.
“When I woke up this morning I never thought this would happen to me. I’m sad but at the same time pleased I’m not damage,” he said.
“I did not know where to depart and because I am a coloured person I am different from everyone there,” Filander said. “I was unnerved.”
He said he had to query for refuge at a nearby house. A woman allowed him to sit at her house while police came to escort Filander out of the area.
“Everyone else is looting so I decided to join”
We spoke to some of the looters and stone throwers. Some are as young as 13.
One young person told us: “Everyone else is looting so I decided to join. I’m not a taxi driver. The taxi shutdown got out of control and people like myself gain taken advantage of the situation. I can’t stay it myself because no one is going to listen.”
One youth said that he and his friends had attempted to ruin into the Junction Mall in Philippi but were stopped by law enforcement.
“People are participating in this violence because of the hype around it. We are gaining nothing except damaging people’s cars and property. Every car that passes here is stoned unless you are known around the area or people are panicked of you. If we see you are insecure, we attack but if we suspect you might be armed with a firearm or the car is full of men no one touches you,” he said.
Stalls at the corner of Modern Eisleben Road were damaged and looted and tyres burnt on the road. Another young person told GroundUp he managed to grasp some clothing and electrical appliances that were sold at these stalls. “We want to acquire our hands on anything valuable that might be useful to us to sell,” he said.
A small business selling zinc and wooden shacks along Recent Eisleben Road was set alight after it was looted on Monday by youths who had blocked almost every major intersection in Philippi.
Learners chased by taxi drivers wearing balaclavas
David Maynier, the provincial education minister, said that the strike had prevented over 450,000 learners and nearly 17,500 staff from getting to school on Monday. He said this “is a devastating loss of teaching and learning time that our children simply cannot afford”.
In Samora Machel, Philippi, teachers and learners ran away when they were chased by taxi drivers.
About 20 staff at Weltevreden Primary School as well as learners were standing outside the school gates when the drivers arrived. Thembinkosi Gura, the school’s caretaker, said he was hesitant to open the gates because he received threats that all operating schools would be burned with people inside.
A few moments later as children made their way to the school with their parents, taxi drivers from the nearby taxi rank started throwing stones and using their vehicles to chase people.
Besides learners, they also targeted people going to work. The taxi drivers wore balaclavas to cover their faces.
A grade 5 learner at Weltevreden said he was at the school gates waiting for it to open when he was chased by men carrying gigantic stones, telling him to depart home.
A grade 8 learner from Philippi Secondary said he was on his way to school when he saw other learners running back so ran with them. “I won’t fade to school tomorrow”, he said.
Business and daycare centres in the area were closed on Monday.
Trains affected
Metrorail Acting Regional Manager Raymond Maseko said that train services had been affected by the taxi strike as staff were not able to procure to work.
Maseko said train services were curtailed by about 20% in the morning, but were operating normally in the afternoon. He said the Cape Town to Nyanga line was most affected, with the first trains running from 5:30am rather than the usual 4:30am departure time.
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Petite Beauty
A South African, an Australian and an Englishman are all having a drink
The Englishman and South African both drink from Pint Glasses, the Australian from a bottle.
The South African, upon draining his glass, drops in back down on the bar, pulls out a pistol, and shoots the glass.
\”In South Africa, there is so much sand that I never drink from the same glass twice!\”
The Australian, having drained his bottle, sets it down upon the bar and, upon seizing the South African\’s pistol, shoots his bottle.
\”In Australia, there is so much booze that I never drink from the same brand twice!\”
The Englishman, likewise having drained his glass, sets his glass upon the table, seizes the pistol the pistol from the Australian, and shoots the South African and the Australian, quite dead.
\”In England, there are so many of you bastards that I never drink with the same two twice!\”
Lava Nibbler
Fun South African Fact: An approximate of 20% of the world’s gold is mined in South Africa.