What happened in Refilwe township last week should send shockwaves through this country. Armed men in taxi association reflector jackets forcibly removed workers from their lawful transport, left them stranded on the roadside and ordered them to use only taxis from a specific rank.
These workers, who had made private, pre-arranged transport, were threatened, humiliated and denied their right to choose how they get to work. This is not a transport dispute. It’s a crime – marked by lawlessness, intimidation and silence from law enforcement.
The police response has been disturbingly passive. The excuse is familiar: no formal complaint, no investigation. But in tight-knit communities like Refilwe, laying a charge against known local enforcers can put your safety and livelihood at risk. How can citizens be expected to act when the state won’t protect them?
This failure speaks to a broader problem in South African policing: a reactive approach that waits for paperwork instead of responding to evidence in plain sight. Journalists were there. Victims spoke out. Videos exist. The law allows for proactive policing. It demands it.
Even the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) condemned the actions as illegal. Yet no arrests, no visible crackdown, no reassurance from authorities. The result? Workers are forced to walk long distances, hitchhike in unsafe conditions or pay inflated taxi fares they can’t afford.
This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a growing trend across the country, where taxi associations or splinter groups use coercion to maintain control of commuter routes, often under the threat of violence. And without a strong response from the government and police, these actions will only escalate.
We cannot normalise this. If we allow armed men to dictate how people travel, we erode the rule of law. We send a message that violence is a legitimate tool of economic control. That public safety comes second to private interests.
The state has to act. These workers are asking for the most basic of rights: safe, affordable transport. Protection from intimidation. Dignity.
If we allow this behaviour to go unchecked, we send a dangerous message: that violence and threats are legitimate tools of economic competition. The right to choose how to travel to work is secondary to the interests of those willing to use force.
That cannot be the SA we build. Intimidation by taxi patrollers must be treated as the criminal act it is –and it must have consequences.
SowetanLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.