CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s largest long-distance bus operator, Intercape, says it is under siege by what it describes as sustained “terrorist-style” attacks orchestrated by elements within the minibus taxi industry—while law enforcement remains passive.
Speaking during a recent parliamentary appearance in Cape Town, Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira said their buses, drivers and passengers have been consistently targeted with rocks, bullets, and armed threats across several provinces, notably the Eastern Cape. Despite 200 criminal complaints filed, Ferreira said no arrests have been made.
The violence, he said, stems from an unresolved turf war over transport routes dating back to 2016. Ferreira told MPs that once legal attempts by minibus operators to stop Intercape failed, underground tactics began. “When they saw they couldn’t win legally, they turned violent. Drivers were assaulted, buses shot at, passengers dragged off at gunpoint,” he said.
Ferreira alleged that criminal groups within the taxi industry operate with impunity due to political protection from “influential individuals,” even going so far as to claim that President Cyril Ramaphosa supports the taxi industry.
The company claims law enforcement is complicit by inaction. Ferreira recalled an incident in East London where he was held hostage for eight hours at gunpoint with AK-47s. “Not one arrest was made. Even when our station in Cape Town was seized for four hours, police stood by as spectators,” he said.
Intercape has won nine court cases, including five against the police and the transport ministry, with judgments instructing the state to protect the company and prosecute offenders. None of the orders were implemented. “That puts SAPS and the Department of Transport in contempt of court,” Ferreira said.
The violence has forced Intercape to shut down services in parts of the Eastern Cape, racking up financial losses of over R30 million, R5.5 million in coach repairs, R3 million in security costs, and R420,000 in medical bills for injured passengers.
On May 14, the company presented its case before the South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, chaired by DA member Ian Cameron. Advocate Kate Hofmeyr, representing Intercape, described the police’s handling of the matter as dangerously inadequate.
The bus operator believes the crisis reveals broader institutional decay, accusing the government of failing to uphold its constitutional duty to protect citizens and enforce the rule of law.
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