Intercape suing Police Minister Cele for failing to act on ongoing attacks against its buses
Cape Town - Long-distance bus operator Intercape is suing Police Minister Bheki Cele for failing to stop the spate of attacks on its buses by taxi operators in the Eastern Cape.
The bus operator’s latest move follows the continuation of attacks, with at least 14 recorded incidents in recent weeks. Coaches have been shot at and stoned, while drivers and passengers have been intimidated by taxi operators, with at least three people shot and wounded, while two were severely assaulted since last month.
Intercape said that it had been forced to take this route after the Minister of Transport and the MEC for Transport and Community Safety for the Eastern Cape failed to respond on the matter.
Last month the long-distance bus operator approached the High Court in Makhanda with an urgent application to compel police and national and provincial transport authorities to comply with court orders to provide for the safety and security of its drivers and passengers, coupled with calls to the recently appointed Transport Minister, Sindisiwe Chikunga, to intervene.
In September last year, the High Court in Makhanda ordered that the MEC and the minister, in consultation with the police and the national regulator, develop a comprehensive plan on the steps they intended to take to ensure that reasonable and effective measures are in place to provide for the safety and security of long-distance bus drivers and passengers in the province.
Intercape is now seeking an urgent order declaring that police and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) had failed to properly investigate and prevent crimes being perpetrated against the company, and for the court to order that a report be submitted to the NPA within 60 days detailing steps taken and progress made in investigating each of the cases opened.
Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira said under the “failed” leadership of Minister Cele and President Cyril Ramaphosa, parts of South Africa had been turned into a “Mafia state” where taxi operators rule with impunity.
“The fish rots from the head. We hold Minister Cele responsible for every failure of the police under his watch and we will not stop until there is full accountability to the travelling public in South Africa,” he said.
He said since 2020, Intercape had opened 167 cases, and rising, predominantly in the Eastern Cape, with no person arrested or prosecuted.
Spokesperson for Police Minister Lirandzu Themba said the police legal team were not aware and had not received the papers. Themba would not be drawn on the interventions by the minister to quell the attacks on Intercape buses.
mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za