CAPE TOWN, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Mounting gun violence in Cape Town, South Africa, which has claimed at least a dozen lives across the metropolis over the past week, has prompted local government to shut down selected minibus taxi routes for 30 days starting Wednesday.
Police have confirmed several separate incidents over the weekend, including three people gunned down in the early hours of Sunday and another man stabbed to death on Saturday evening, both in Kraaifontein, a town in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. A 25-year-old man was also shot and killed in an alleged gang-related incident in Muizenberg, a beachside suburb of the city.
"The motive for the shooting incidents is the subject of the initiated police investigations," the South African Police Service said. "No arrests have been effected yet. Investigations continue with additional deployments sent to the area."
Cape Town has seen a surge in gun violence and gang-related killings in recent weeks, prompting warnings from civil society that the Western Cape Province, of which Cape Town is the capital city, is facing a full-blown crisis.
Amid the escalating violence, the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) Western Cape said Tuesday that it has received the provincial government's decision to invoke Section 91 of the National Land Transport Act, allowing for extraordinary interventions in the taxi industry.
SANTACO said it accepted the closures "with both sadness and understanding."
"Sadness, because of the long-lasting impact it will have on the livelihoods of taxi operators and their families, as well as the businesses that sustain our industry. At the same time, we understand that the measure was taken in the interest of protecting lives, amid mounting violence and instability linked to our sector," the council said in a statement.
The organization apologized to commuters, noting: "As an industry that provides the backbone of daily mobility for thousands of people, we are deeply aware of the disruption this brings. Nevertheless, we remain optimistic and hopeful that through the ongoing dialogue with government and other stakeholders, peace and stability will soon be restored."
The closures are expected to hit thousands of daily commuters. Minibus taxis are the primary form of public transport in South Africa, carrying millions of passengers every day.
