From low intensity war to mafia war: taxi violence in South Africa (1987 - 2000)

This report presents the results of a case study of South Africa's "taxi wars", a series of violent conflicts that have marked the largely black-owned and black-operated minibus taxi industry since its deregulation in 1987. Prior to 1994, these taxi wars were relatively few in number and were predominantly linked to state-orchestrated violence. Since then, however, taxi violence has become more widespread, decentralised and criminal in character. Behind this shift are changes in the organisation of the taxi industry that broadly reflect the evolving relationship between state and society in post-apartheid South Africa.

This report sets out an historical overview of the taxi phenomenon during the period 1987-2000. It focuses on the development of the taxi industry and its associated violence in the late-apartheid era, up to the present day. Case material is drawn from an in-depth longitudinal study of taxi violence in the Cape Peninsula area, but the research findings reflect taxi violence more generally.

The paper finds that:

• taxi violence has its roots in the policies of deregulation and destabilisation pursued by the apartheid regime during the late 1980s and early 1990s
• as the state's control over the economy and society has weakened in the course of South Africa's transition, taxi associations have developed as informal agents of regulation, protection and extortion
• violent taxi associations called "mother bodies" have been allowed to develop and expand virtually unchecked by the authorities. These organisations are behind most of the violence that has come to be associated with the industry. Mother bodies have used their considerable firepower and weight to resist recent government attempts to re-regulate the taxi industry and they are symptomatic of more generalised rising levels of organised crime in post-apartheid South Africa
• official corruption and collusion are major factors contributing to the continuation of taxi violence. In particular, the ownership of taxis by police and other government personnel directly aids criminality in the industry and exacerbates attempts to resolve the violence.

Beyond providing an historical overview of the genesis of, and reasons for, taxi violence, this report also details the latest developments in the government's ongoing attempt to curb taxi violence; namely its plans to restructure the industry in terms of a recapitalisation programme that envisages replacing the existing taxi fleet of 16-seater vehicles with new, yet-to-be manufactured 18- and 35-seater vehicles, and which discusses the potential impact of such developments in this volatile yet necessary sector. [adapted from author]