Bonteheuwel taxi drivers have revealed a new twist in the fight with gangsters trying to extort “protection money” from them.
In a heated meeting hosted by Ward Councillor Angus McKenzie on Monday night, emotional drivers revealed skollies are being brought in from Manenberg to rob them.
The meeting followed an incident on Saturday where a taxi, loaded with passengers, was pelted with stones shortly after 2pm after the driver refused to pay a R50 “protection fee” to pass a certain part of Bonteheuwel.
The incident caused an uproar among the drivers who say they are being targeted by opportunistic skollies while travelling along the southern section of Bonteheuwel Avenue.
Speaking at the meeting, a taxi driver who asked not to be named, says his taxi was targeted and passengers got hurt.
“ Ek is bedonnered omdat hulle my passengers seergemaak het. A life is more important than a taxi and I can tell you now, these gangsters are not from Bonteheuwel.
“They are HLs [Hard Livings] from Manenberg. We can’t even open cases against them because we don’t know their names,” the driver says.
Another driver said some skollies have now taken to boarding taxis as passengers and then robbing them when they leave Bonteheuwel.
UPROAR: Bonteheuwel Ward Councillor Angus McKenzie held a meeting with drivers to discuss plans to combat taxi violence
“They get in as passengers, sit in the front, then they rob you when you get to Klipfontein Road.”
One driver made a tearful plea for intervention from authorities, saying they fear for their lives.
“ Ek is ’* pa wat opstaan om te gaan werk vir my vrou en kinders. Nou kom die gangsters met hulle dinge and it is not safe for us, Mr McKenzie. It’s dangerous and we need help from the community.”
McKenzie warned drivers that if they started paying protection to one gang, other gangs would soon follow and the issue will never come to an end.
Instead, he proposed the use of the old taxi rank as a collection point, but drivers said commuters would not walk that far.
Several ideas were discussed and drivers agreed to a plan to rally residents and the Bonteheuwel Neighbourhood Watch to conduct patrols at taxi stops to keep skollies away.
“This is about keeping the commuters and the community safe. We will hand out pamphlets for a public meeting where we will call on the community to stand together and fight back. We have discussed the issue with Bishop Lavis police and Metro Police.
“We need to make sure that no taxi and no shop at any time pays protection money or this will not stop,” McKenzie said.