Zinhle Mapumulo

Zinhle Mapumulo

Taxi drivers have struck again but this time the victim is a man, Bongani Dlamini.

Dlamini is deputy chairman of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in Gauteng.

Dlamini was allegedly harassed and forced out of a taxi kilometres from his destination.

This after he innocently noted that the door of the taxi was not properly closed.

"My crime was to tell my friend that the door was broken and looked as if it would fall off at any time," Dlamini says.

"The driver suddenly stopped the taxi and I thought he was going to let me try and close the door.

"Instead he shoved the money we had given him in our faces and ordered us to get out and wait for a better taxi.

"Puzzled at his behaviour we assured him that we had not meant to offend him but were just worried about our safety."

Dlamini and his friend had taken the taxi outside the University of Johannesburg campus in Soweto and were headed for Leratong.

"I don't know which is worse between the driver's sick behaviour or the attitude of passengers' who supported what he did," Dlamini said.

"Instead of telling the driver that it was wrong of him to force us out of the taxi some passengers moaned because we were delaying them."