News24 reports that a taxi operator was arrested for attempted murder after a traffic officer had to shoot at a vehicle to stop it from running him over during a volatile route inspection.
Western Cape Transport Department spokesperson Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka said the officials were checking for illegal operations on the contested Paarl/Mbekweni route. Some taxi operators blocked the road. "A taxi then drove straight towards a traffic officer with the intention of knocking him over. The officer fired shots at the wheels of the taxi, forcing it to stop. The taxi driver was arrested and charged with attempted murder," Makoba-Somdaka reported. The Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) and the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) are vying for rights to trade on the route, with Codeta fiercely guarding what it regards as its territory. Meantime outside Johannesburg's usually busy Commissioner Street on Saturday, four taxis were burnt out. The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport swiftly obtained an interdict against the Witwatersrand African Taxi Owners Association and the Nancefield Dube West Taxi Association.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jenni Evans at News24
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