Disgruntled Middelburg District Taxi Association drivers and owners tried to hand a memorandum of demands to the police, when the confrontation became violent.
The association wants Brigadier Moses Bolton to be removed from his post and the police to follow up on the cases they open.
They also want the Middelburg Police to remove the KwaZulu Natal security company that is patrolling the Extension 24 and Rockdale route.
While one of the taxi drivers read the memorandum, a rival Nasaret District Taxi Association driver walked towards the crowd. The crowd chased the NDTA driver away and accused him of being a traitor.
In an attempt to clear a blocked Joubert Street of more than 100 taxis, police tried to disperse the crowd by hurling a smoke grenade into the melee.
Anger boiled over and the crowd of taxi drivers then attacked some members of the public order policing unit.
Nasaret drivers also blocked Joubert Street weeks ago, demanding the same.
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I have been working as a journalist/photographer since 2018 at the Middelburg Observer.
Before joining Caxton I was a Journalism Student at the Tshwane University of Technology.
I was also a broadcasting intern at the SABC in Pretoria. In my first year as a journalist I was awarded the Upcoming Journalist of the Year at the O H Frewin awards.
My motto in life is ‘I am human before anything’ with that being said I am driven by human stories and I am a strong believer in justices and human rights.
