SANTACO apologises to Port St Johns residents following deadly taxi violence

JOHANNESBURG - The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the Eastern Cape has issued a public apology to Port St Johns residents following a deadly shoot-out between two rival taxi associations at the town’s rank.

Members of the Lusikisiki and Port Saint Johns Taxi Associations engaged in a brazen daylight shooting that claimed three lives and injured six others.

The ongoing tensions between the Port St Johns and Lusikisiki taxi associations reached boiling point on Tuesday, with one of the victims being an innocent 11-year-old boy.

Santaco Eastern Cape chairperson, Bishop Yolelo, has apologised for the deadly shooting, saying they had engaged members of both taxi associations to find an amicable solution.

"I’m appealing to every member of the public to accept our apology. We are committing, we will suppress any element of taxi violence on our public roads and in our homes at large."

Police have arrested eleven people for the shooting and recovered 15 firearms including pistols, AK 47’s, shotguns and rifles as well as 328 rounds of ammunition.