“This Is Wrong”: Man Assaulted by Taxi Association in Vanderbijlpark for Having Passenger in His Car

• A crime and safety news page shared footage of a man being dragged out of his vehicle and assaulted by members of the Civic Centre Taxi Association
• The incident happened on 12 January 2026 when the man was travelling to work with two colleagues as part of a lift club
• South Africans expressed shock at the violence, questioning why the man opened his doors and windows and calling for police to arrest the suspects

A man travelling to work with colleagues in Vanderbijlpark was violently assaulted by members of a taxi association, sparking outrage across South Africa. Crime and safety news page @suburbancontrolcentre shared footage of the incident on 13 January 2026 with the caption explaining that a case had been opened at the Vanderbijlpark Police Station.

The first video, recorded by a female passenger sitting in the front seat, showed the driver's door being opened as he was dragged out of the vehicle by members of the Civic Centre Taxi Association. The woman tried to hide the fact that she was recording while the man was being assaulted by several people. The man who was pulled out of the driver's seat could be heard pleading, with others also begging on his behalf, saying people shouldn't be assaulting him and should instead have a conversation.

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A second video showed the gentleman being manhandled by another man, one of those who had pulled him from the vehicle. The woman filming tried to capture what was happening before the man noticed her recording and came forward, presumably to try to take the phone away from her.

According to a media statement released by the South African Police Service on 14 January 2026, police in Vanderbijlpark are investigating a case of common assault. The incident occurred on Monday, 12 January 2026, at about 06:14 when the complainant was travelling to work with two colleagues as part of their lift club.

Police reported that the man was pursued by three unknown vehicles while driving. He eventually stopped along Delfos Street, not far from their workplace. Six suspects approached the vehicle and started to assault him. The suspects informed the complainant that they were from a certain taxi association and accused him of transporting people for money without a valid permit.

The incident has reignited concerns about taxi associations taking the law into their own hands and assaulting motorists who are simply sharing lifts with colleagues or friends.

View the Facebook clip here.

South Africans outraged by taxi association assault

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Netizens shared their anger on the Facebook page @suburbancontrolcentre's video:

@blackmanndlovu questioned:

"Why did he open the doors and windows?"

@gilbertkavumba said:

"Why are they killing this guy? That is criminal. Police should arrest the gangsters. The problems are not going to be solved by violence, 🙏"

@josephmokeona wrote:

"💔😭🫵 One day is one day."

@criminalawareness asked:

"Are those traffic officers still at work?"

@percymaseloa warned:

"I was gonna show them flames."

@nthabisengntthabi highlighted:

"Wait!? Did everyone see how they pull the guy in the car."

More about taxi association incidents

• Briefly News recently reported on Johannesburg taxi drivers and associations pledging to obey road rules during the festive season.
• A TikTok video highlighted tensions between taxi drivers and e-hailing services, showing a moment of high tension when an Uber driver clashed with several taxi drivers.
• A taxi association in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, sparked outrage by allegedly warning motorists and teachers not to give lifts.

Source: Briefly News