Multiple shacks burning near Marabastad rank
“Firefighters could not extinguish the flames as the situation was volatile and unsafe for them,” says Tshwane EMS spokesperson Charles Mabaso.
A fire set by angry taxi drivers to shacks in Marabastad on Tuesday morning is still ravaging the settlement.
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Charles Mabaso confirmed that the fire was reported to the service.
Mabaso, however, said firefighters could not get the fire under control as the environment was not conducive for them to operate.
“Firefighters arrived on the scene to find multiple shacks on fire, allegedly started by taxi drivers.
“They could not extinguish the flames as the situation was volatile and unsafe for them,” he said.
In addition, Mabaso told Rekord that the service had temporarily withdrawn its resources until the area was safe for them to work.
He said his team was awaiting law enforcement agencies to declare the scene safe for them to continue doing their job.
Thapelo Diale, a queue marshal at Marabastad taxi rank, said the shacks were a camping zone for so-called nyaope boys, who terrorised people coming into the rank morning and afternoon.
“These shacks housed criminals and nyaope boys, who are mugging our commuters. It is our responsibility to make sure that our passengers are safe because we can’t afford to lose our customers because of people who don’t want to work,” Diale said.
He said drivers have been reporting the muggings to the police but nothing has been done to address the issue, hence they resorted to burning the shacks.
“We are law-abiding citizens, who pay our taxes, but we can’t stand by and watch innocent people get hurt by thugs,” he said.
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