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| Bonke Makalala, 33, was arrested December 9 in Pretoria where he was allegedly hiding. Picture: Supplied |
Taxi boss Bonke Makalala, a notorious figure in the Eastern Cape, has been accused of playing a key role in attempts to force long-distance bus operators to stop competing with minibus taxis. This comes after police discounted evidence suggesting that Makalala was involved in an organized crime campaign to intimidate Intercape and other bus operators. Despite Intercape providing evidence showing that Makalala presented the taxi bosses' demands at a meeting with bus operators in March 2022, they have opted to appeal the ruling.
The Eastern Cape high court criticized police for failing to investigate attacks on Intercape buses as organised crime. The court ordered the police to conduct a proper investigation, overseen by the court and the National Prosecuting Authority's Investigating Directorate (ID). Both the SAPS and NPA have opted to appeal the ruling, arguing that it was unclear who Makalala was.
Makalala has been in and out of three Western Cape magistrates' courts on separate charges of impersonating a police officer, murder, two attempted murders, and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. He was arrested in Pretoria in December last year on alleged crimes dating back to 2018 and 2019, and is currently in custody pending bail application amid allegations he attempted to bribe prison officials while in custody in Malmesbury.
Makalala faces one count of the murder of a man in Nyanga on 13 December 2019, the attempted murder of a woman and a child, and charges of illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition dating back to 2018. He has proclaimed his innocence on all counts.
Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira has been accused of engaging in a "pattern of racketeering activity" under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca). He claims that during a meeting with taxi associations, including the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata), the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta), Uncedo, and the Gauteng Taxi Association, Bonke Makalala, demanded certain terms and conditions from long-distance bus operators to stop attacks on buses and harassment of their staff and passengers.
Makalala wrote instructions on a whiteboard detailing how bus companies should inflate their prices, including increasing ticket prices to R1,000, limiting the number of buses per day, and indicating that bus operators may no longer stop in certain towns in the Eastern Cape. Ferreira refused to agree to these terms, and later, he was told that if Intercape paid an undisclosed sum of money, the restrictions placed on them by taxi associations would be lifted.
Intercape refused to buckle, but due to the violence, they were forced to stop operating in the towns designated "no-go zones" by the taxi bosses. Ferreira argues that the criminals behind these attacks profit from their reign of terror by demanding extortion payments from long-distance bus companies against the threat of ongoing violent attacks and by preventing long-distance bus companies from operating in certain areas and eliminating any competition for taxi associations within the long-distance transport industry.
In the second half of 2022, Makalala seized the opportunity presented by the "no-go zones" to start his own long-distance bus company servicing these areas, namely Makalala Trans. He brought in his own buses to operate in hotspot areas where Intercape had halted operations.
Makalala Trans currently owns 17 taxis and four buses, with 42 employees. The buses operate mainly between Cape Town and Mthatha, with the company office in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. Ferreira claims that some of its buses are operating without valid operating licenses, and two Makalala Trans buses were impounded on 30 July 2022 and 2 December 2022. These impoundments were immediately followed by retaliatory attacks on Intercape, indicating that Makalala Trans's strategy of violence will not only establish itself in the market but will be used to squash any opposition and remove any competition.
Intercape is attempting to get SAPS provincial commissioners to investigate bus attacks as organized crime, but there is increased national focus on Makalala as a significant figure in a wider criminal ecosystem. Makalala's arrest in Pretoria on 9 December 2023 resulted from a joint operation between Western Cape provincial detectives, Pretoria National Intervention Unit, Eastern Cape, and Head Office Crime Intelligence. Police Minister Bheki Cele indirectly linked Makalala to extortion in the Western Cape, stating that the province has made significant progress in dismantling and taking down those behind the 30% construction mafia grouping. He also referenced Makalala's arrest "for taxi violence-related activities."
The trail of bodies emerging in Makalala's wake has grown, even while he is behind bars. The charge of impersonating a police officer stems from an investigation prompted by an online video showing Makalala driving a marked police van and using its built-in loudhailer. Two Nyanga-based police officers were arrested in December for allegedly allowing Makalala to make unauthorised use of a state vehicle. One of the two was killed in a shooting on 25 February in the Masiphumelele informal settlement on the South Peninsula.
Makalala wrote instructions on a whiteboard detailing how bus companies should inflate their prices, including increasing ticket prices to R1,000, limiting the number of buses per day, and indicating that bus operators may no longer stop in certain towns in the Eastern Cape. Ferreira refused to agree to these terms, and later, he was told that if Intercape paid an undisclosed sum of money, the restrictions placed on them by taxi associations would be lifted.
Intercape refused to buckle, but due to the violence, they were forced to stop operating in the towns designated "no-go zones" by the taxi bosses. Ferreira argues that the criminals behind these attacks profit from their reign of terror by demanding extortion payments from long-distance bus companies against the threat of ongoing violent attacks and by preventing long-distance bus companies from operating in certain areas and eliminating any competition for taxi associations within the long-distance transport industry.
In the second half of 2022, Makalala seized the opportunity presented by the "no-go zones" to start his own long-distance bus company servicing these areas, namely Makalala Trans. He brought in his own buses to operate in hotspot areas where Intercape had halted operations.
Makalala Trans currently owns 17 taxis and four buses, with 42 employees. The buses operate mainly between Cape Town and Mthatha, with the company office in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. Ferreira claims that some of its buses are operating without valid operating licenses, and two Makalala Trans buses were impounded on 30 July 2022 and 2 December 2022. These impoundments were immediately followed by retaliatory attacks on Intercape, indicating that Makalala Trans's strategy of violence will not only establish itself in the market but will be used to squash any opposition and remove any competition.
Intercape is attempting to get SAPS provincial commissioners to investigate bus attacks as organized crime, but there is increased national focus on Makalala as a significant figure in a wider criminal ecosystem. Makalala's arrest in Pretoria on 9 December 2023 resulted from a joint operation between Western Cape provincial detectives, Pretoria National Intervention Unit, Eastern Cape, and Head Office Crime Intelligence. Police Minister Bheki Cele indirectly linked Makalala to extortion in the Western Cape, stating that the province has made significant progress in dismantling and taking down those behind the 30% construction mafia grouping. He also referenced Makalala's arrest "for taxi violence-related activities."
The trail of bodies emerging in Makalala's wake has grown, even while he is behind bars. The charge of impersonating a police officer stems from an investigation prompted by an online video showing Makalala driving a marked police van and using its built-in loudhailer. Two Nyanga-based police officers were arrested in December for allegedly allowing Makalala to make unauthorised use of a state vehicle. One of the two was killed in a shooting on 25 February in the Masiphumelele informal settlement on the South Peninsula.
This article is republished from The Daily Maverick as part of amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism. Click here to read the original, full article.
