Taxi leaders are angry because a driver died after a violent clash with Cape Town police on Friday night.
The altercation was caught on video.
The video shows officers strangling and beating driver Luvuyo Vimba with a sjambok. When the driver fights back and knocks down one officer, others chase him.
Santaco Western Cape spokesperson Makhosandile Tumana said this violence is common.
“We condemn the police brutality against our driver. A video of a driver being brutally attacked by the police and Law Enforcement agency has been circulating; this is the reality lived by our drivers on our roads in the Western Cape province daily,” Tumana said.
They want national police and transport ministers to step in.
“The killing of our driver follows many incidents. Sadly, the driver seen being brutally beaten by the police died at the hands of our own police. This kind of behaviour is injustice, so we demand that those officers seen on the video must be brought to book.”
A taxi driver, who feared giving his name, said police target them unfairly.
“People are mistaken to say that we don’t want to listen; they are saying that because they don’t know how we are being treated. Even if the driver is obeying the law when being stopped by officers, the same officers will become provocative or even say they are not afraid of us,” he said.
He said police should have arrested the driver instead of attacking him.
Police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk said the police watchdog Ipid is investigating.
Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason said police called for backup on Friday night after hearing a shot in Strand Street.
“A shot had been heard, and SAPS officers had identified a suspect. However, based on the information at our disposal, bystanders and taxi drivers tried to run interference. Law Enforcement officers provided tactical cover to the SAPS officer,” said Dyason.
The suspect was taken to the railway police station and later to hospital, where he died.
Pictured above: Police lights.
Source: File
