Peace agreement possibly under threat after CATA member shot in Nyanga

A 44-year-old man was shot and wounded at the Nyanga taxi rank on Thursday morning, raising fresh concerns about tensions in the taxi industry despite a recent peace agreement.

Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel F.C. Van Wyk said the shooting occurred at approximately 09:00. The victim sustained a gunshot wound to the right side of his upper body and was transported to hospital in a private vehicle.

“The motive for this attack is believed to be taxi related, however this forms part of the ongoing investigation,” Van Wyk said.

Nyanga police have opened an attempted murder case. No arrests have been made, and the case has been transferred to the Provincial Detectives Taxi Violence Unit for investigation.

The Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) has confirmed that the victim is a member of its association.

CATA spokesperson Nkulukelo Sityebi confirmed the victim’s membership and called for calm while police investigate.

“I just wanna ask for the CATA executive members as well as CATA members for the calmness. Then we will wait for the SAPS to give us the direction when it comes to that issue.”

Sityebi added that the association could not establish whether the shooting was connected to the ongoing tensions between CATA and CODETA.

Meanwhile, SANTACO spokesperson Makhonsandile Tumana said the organisation was not yet in a position to comment, as it was still seeking information about the incident.

“We don’t want to interfere that at the moment until we find out what occurred there, what was the motive behind that,” Tumana said.

The shooting comes days after CATA and CODETA agreed on Monday to enter peace talks aimed at finding a lasting solution to their conflict, following weeks of deadly taxi-related violence.