A British doctor was shot and killed in Cape Town after taking a wrong turn from the airport and encountering violent protests linked to a week-long taxi driver strike.
The 40-year-old British national was with two family members when he drove into the city’s Nyanga township, located near Cape Town international airport.
In Ntlangano Crescent, a “number of suspects” approached his vehicle before fatally shooting him, said Lirandzu Themba, a spokesperson for the police minister. There have been no arrests.
Five people have been killed in the violence accompanying the taxi strike, which began on 1 August, police said. Individuals have set fire to buses and cars, blocked roadways, destroyed property and thrown rocks. Since Thursday, officers have arrested 120 people for various offences including malicious damage to property, public violence and looting.
SANTACO President Mr. Abner Tsebe weighs in on the Cape Town taxi related impasse and echoes calls for peace. pic.twitter.com/UTCT41sHT2
— SANTACO (@SA_Taxis) August 9, 2023
The South African national taxi council called for the one-week strike after failing to reach a resolution with the local government over issues with a new municipal law that its members say is disproportionately affecting their livelihoods. The law grants local authorities the power to impound vehicles for what drivers have described as minor infractions – driving without a licence or registration plates, or not wearing a seatbelt.
The union has condemned the violence, and said its members were not behind it. “We are especially aggrieved by the perception of the public that we are lawless,” the union said in a statement. “The perception is being fuelled by protesters and not members of our organisation.”
Responding to the violence, authorities cleared a road on Monday to allow for the free flow of traffic to the airport – and impounded 53 minibus taxis in the process.
The Foreign Office said it was supporting the family of a British man who died in South Africa, and advised Britons to be on alert while travelling in the country.
