Cape Town taxi violence has left at least three people dead and disrupted matric exams as police and the City of Cape Town brief media on Thursday, 29 October 2026.
According to EWN, five men were killed and four others wounded in three separate shootings across Cape Town on Thursday, 22 October 2026. Western Cape Mobility Member of the Executive Council (MEC) Isaac Sileku said the department would seek urgent court orders against unlawful route operations.
What has happened in the Cape Town taxi violence?
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said two men were shot dead in Gugulethu and a 38-year-old man was killed inside a minibus taxi in Khayelitsha on Tuesday, 27 October 2026. Three people were also shot in Mfuleni that morning. Twigg said the motive is believed to be taxi-related and no arrests have been made.
Police spokesperson Thembakazi Mpendukana said gunmen fired on commuters queuing at the Palm taxi rank in Delft on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, wounding two men. Delft police opened two attempted murder cases and a case of discharging a firearm, and no arrests have been made.
How has the Cape Town taxi violence disrupted matric exams?
Western Cape Education MEC Jaco Londt said the shootings disrupted the National Senior Certificate English paper on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, and that some matric candidates were redirected to alternative exam centres. Candidates facing circumstances beyond their control may arrive up to an hour after the paper starts, he said.
The City of Cape Town temporarily closed the Delft public transport interchange. Urban mobility mayoral committee member Rob Quintas said thousands of passengers depend on the services every day. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said in a City statement on Wednesday, 28 October 2026:
We utterly condemn the violence and lawlessness linked to disputes within the taxi industry.
What is behind the Cape Town taxi violence?
Quintas said the violence stems from longstanding disputes between the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA) over minibus taxi routes and operating rights. He said the latest tensions involve routes between Delft, Epping and Killarney.
What is being done about the Cape Town taxi violence?
Western Cape Department of Mobility spokesperson Byron La Hoe said the department would meet CATA and CODETA leadership on Thursday, 29 October 2026, after an emergency meeting on Friday, 23 October 2026 requested a stronger visible presence of police and traffic officers at affected ranks. La Hoe said:
Disputes over routes or operating rights must never cost lives.
Police and the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate are due to brief media at 10:30 SAST on Thursday, 29 October 2026, at 25 Alfred Street in Green Point. City safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith said:
We cannot tolerate a situation where thugs put innocent lives in harm’s way without consequence.
The route disputes are not new. In June 2025, five people died in violence linked to the fight between CATA and CODETA over the Mfuleni to Somerset West route. In October 2025, the Western Cape Mobility Department lifted a 30-day ban on the Khayelitsha to Somerset West taxi route imposed after further shootings.
Sources
- EWN, WC govt vows strict legal action as deadly Cape Town taxi shootings leave 5 dead
- TimesLIVE, Cape Town taxi violence disrupts matric exams as candidates diverted to alternative centres
- Briefly, Cape Town taxi violence kills 3 and wounds 6 in 24 hours across multiple areas
- Daily Voice, Talks planned after Delft shooting amid wider Cape Town taxi violence
- City of Cape Town, Delft Public Transport Interchange temporarily closed amid taxi violence
- Western Cape police media advisory, SAPS and City of Cape Town to brief media on taxi violence, 29 October 2026
- Swisher Post, Cape Town taxi war worsens as CATA and CODETA fight over Mfuleni-Somerset West route
- Swisher Post, Western Cape government lifts ban on Khayelitsha-Somerset West taxi route
