Taxis, cops not above law

The South African taxi industry has gained a reputation of being a law unto itself. Motorists and commuters are generally scared of standing up to the industry in cases where they feel they have been wronged, because the reputation of being a law unto themselves comes with a history of tending to resolve disputes through violence.

- Sydney Majoko

That reputation is not without justification. But the taxi industry is not unique in feeling that the law is not being applied justly to its members. On Thursday and Friday last week, the Ekurhuleni chapter of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) went on strike without warning, leaving millions of commuters stranded and the province's economy disrupted.

The cause? The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) had impounded nearly 20 minibus taxis for infractions of road laws.

At about the same time, the news cycle was abuzz about the decision of the National Police Commissioner General Fanie Masemola to hand back more than 121 dockets to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial task force into political killings.