Cape Town Metro Police officers, Traffic Police officers and South African Police Service (SAPS) officers are seen near busses stationed in Nyanga on August 10, 2023. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)
South African police reported Thursday that five people, including a British tourist and a police officer, have been killed in violence linked to a week-long minibus strike that has paralysed Cape Town.
News of the toll came as the strike — which has stranded commuters — was extended at least until Friday, though no new violence has been reported since Tuesday.
The 40-year-old British man was shot and killed on August 3 after a road blockage by strikers forced him to drive a route that led him to a township area participating in the strike.
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“No arrests have been made pertaining to the British citizen but investigations are certainly underway,” warrant officer Joseph Swartbooi told AFP.
The man identified as Kar Teoh was reportedly killed in front of his wife and two-year-old son.
Teoh was a consultant foot and ankle surgeon at the state-run Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in England.
“His professional dedication was unparallelled, but it was his personal warmth, his commitment to friendship, and his unwavering support that we will remember most fondly,” friend and fellow orthopaedic surgeon Paul Lee said in an online tribute.
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A police officer was also killed on Friday as officers were “performing crime prevention patrols to quell taxi related incidents”, authorities said.
Authorities reported three other deaths that were believed to be related to the strike.
Drivers of minibus taxis, the main mode of transport for millions of working-class South Africans, have blocked multiple roads in a strike that began last Thursday as a result of clashes with city authorities.
The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) called for the action over a new law giving the city the power to impound vehicles over offences such as driving without a licence, not displaying registration plates or overloading.
READ MORE: Santaco wants to avoid sending taxi drivers into ‘lion’s den’ as Ramaphosa slams violent strike
President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the violence.
Talks between the minibus taxi union and the local government, which came to a deadlock at the weekend, are expected to resume on Thursday afternoon.
Cape Town’s mayor said there had been no violence since Tuesday.
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