In the late 1980s and 1990s, thousands of people were killed in the South African “Tax Wars.” The wars were fought between rival taxi driver associations. Often the violence had a cross-over with tribal and political warfare. Associations allied with different parties would often go to war.
On December 25, 2020, the worst incident of taxi violence in twenty years occurred. The so-called Mount Ayliff Christmas Day Massacre. Seven taxi drivers in killed, and many more injured in a gun battle in a rural area of East Cape near the border of Kwa-Zulu-Natal.
Sporadic taxi violence has been occurring in Cape Town for the past three weeks. Seven Taxi drivers have been killed in Cape Town this month. Tensions exploded today, with sporadic gunfire sending drivers fleeing from a bus terminal. Tens of thousands of people were left stranded, unable to get home from work.
