Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle has condemned with the strongest possible terms the ongoing violence which is taking place between the Ncedo and Border Taxi Associations operating in the Mthatha and Libode areas.
In the latest incident that happened on Tuesday afternoon two people died and eight others were injured at Libode's Ntlaza Taxi rank when a group of about 20 men invaded the rank and turned it into a war zone.
They shot, hacked and stabbed members of the public.
Those injured were all rushed to the nearby St Barnabas Hospital. Three of them had head and abdominal injuries and were referred to Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha in critical condition. Two of them had cracked skulls.
The latest deaths bring to more than 25 the number of people who have died since May last year when violence erupted between rival taxi associations over routes in Mthatha and surrounds.
Tuesday’s killings came hardly a week after a couple was shot dead in their home in Thabo Mbeki township in Libode.
Masualle has called on the warring sides to resolve their dispute peacefully through negotiations and warned that the provincial government will not tolerate violence which further threatens the safety and security of the public.
He said police had received extra support in the form of reinforcements from the SAPS East London district to bring violent incidents under control in the area.
'The people of the Eastern Cape Province should now act as integral cogs of government in the fight against crime, so that our province could be regarded as the best place to live, work and invest in,” he said.
Masualle condemns ongoing taxi violence
Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle has condemned with the strongest possible terms the ongoing violence which is taking place between the Ncedo and Border Taxi Associations operating in the Mthatha and Libode areas.
In the latest incident that happened on Tuesday afternoon two people died and eight others were injured at Libode's Ntlaza Taxi rank when a group of about 20 men invaded the rank and turned it into a war zone.
They shot, hacked and stabbed members of the public.
Those injured were all rushed to the nearby St Barnabas Hospital. Three of them had head and abdominal injuries and were referred to Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha in critical condition. Two of them had cracked skulls.
The latest deaths bring to more than 25 the number of people who have died since May last year when violence erupted between rival taxi associations over routes in Mthatha and surrounds.
Tuesday’s killings came hardly a week after a couple was shot dead in their home in Thabo Mbeki township in Libode.
Masualle has called on the warring sides to resolve their dispute peacefully through negotiations and warned that the provincial government will not tolerate violence which further threatens the safety and security of the public.
He said police had received extra support in the form of reinforcements from the SAPS East London district to bring violent incidents under control in the area.
'The people of the Eastern Cape Province should now act as integral cogs of government in the fight against crime, so that our province could be regarded as the best place to live, work and invest in,” he said.
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