Public Order Police were called out to Uitsig on Thursday after residents and taxi drivers shut down Connaught Road to protest against the murder of a taxi driver.
Angry residents burnt tyres and rubble to show their anger at the murder of Kenneth Olyn, 35, who was gunned down on Tuesday.
A representative of the Uitsig Taxi Association (UTA), who asked not to be named, says taxi drivers are coming under fire by ruthless gangsters who are “taxing them”.
He says skollies are boarding taxis and robbing drivers and
He says Olyn, who has a three-month-old baby girl, was gunned down in his taxi in Carnation Street.
Captain FC van Wyk confirms the case and says police are now investigating the murder.
The UTA representative says Olyn had two passengers in his taxi at the time.
Kenneth Olyn, 35, was killed
“This is coming on for a long time. The gangsters are always taxing us. We have 26 taxis, but only eight are on the road because nobody can find drivers,” the man says.
“They are scared of the gangsters and the community is
Community leader, Pastor Adam Alexander, agrees with the association and says the situation is becoming unbearable for the community.
“We have asked for help on so many occasions from police and we get nothing. The commuters are not safe and what happens when the children go back to school? We are all going to suffer. The community gathered this morning to say that we have had enough now.”
Pastor Adam Alexander criticises cops
Van Wyk says a public violence case was opened after the protest.
He also says a meeting was held between police, community leaders and the protesters to resolve the situation.
“The situation is stable and fire brigade and the cleansing department was arranged to extinguish the fire and clear the roads.”
Resident Andre Volkwyn, who often travelled with Olyn from Uitsig to Parow, says he is saddened by his death.
“He was a nice ou. They did not have to kill him. I am very sad, I took his taxi a lot when I go to Parow.”
Anyone with information about Olyn’s murder is asked to call Ravensmead police on
021 933 9000.