WATCH: Pinetown cops, taxi drivers in deadly standoff
More than 40 policemen from different units were called to a taxi driver protest in Pinetown this morning.
A man was *shot when frustrated taxi operators blockaded the intersection of Old Main Road and Anderson Road this morning.
According to onlookers, the Metro police had set up a road block at the intersection near the taxi rank and were ticketing the taxis as they left the rank.
They were said to have ticketed the taxi drivers in the rank after their vehicles were inspected for road worthiness. Their licence discs were also confiscated.
Mpisane Zungu, one of the taxi drivers said that Metro started confiscating discs and handing out fines on Monday and commuters had begun complaining that they were arriving late to work.
Today, taxi drivers gathered en masse and waited for the Metro police to arrive so they could confront them and stop them from entering the taxi rank.
“We don’t have money for them today as we always pay if they find faults,” said Zungu.
Gunfire was exchanged between the police and the taxi drivers and two of the drivers were injured. Reports indicate about four or five shots were fired. Ambulances were called to the scene but one of the men is said to have died in hospital.
When Highway Mail reporters arrived at the scene, the tension between the taxi drivers and the police was palpable.
According to Captain Bongumusa Manqele, media spokesman for the Pinetown SAPS, the Pinetown SAPS, the Tactical Response Team and a few members from the riot squad had been called to the scene.
GALLERY: Pinetown cops, taxi drivers in deadly standoff
There were more than 40 policemen at the standoff.
An ambulance attempted to break through the crowd to attend to an accident scene on Field’s Hill, but the group of taxi drivers stood their ground. The ambulance was forced to manoeuvre around the group of disgruntled taxi operators.
*An earlier version of this article erroneously reported that the man had died. It has since been changed to reflect the facts.
