The largely unregulated taxi industry in South Africa has long been associated with violence., as taxi associations clash with one another over control of lucrative routes. Taxi-related violence ranges from shoot-out at taxi ranks to targeted hits on influential players in the industry, often sparking retaliatory killings, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of taxi operators and innocent bystanders.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, mafia-style groups such as those operating in the taxi industry, are a prevalent criminal actor in South Africa - with a score of 7.5 out of 10, placing the country 5th out of 54 on the African continent.

South Africa also sits 6th in the world for extortion and protection racketeering, and the mafia-like taxi associations are major contributors to that, as they extort their drivers and attack rival modes of transport.

Overall, South Africa’s criminality score is very high at 7.18 out of 10, placing it 7th out of 193 countries.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Rumbidzai Matamba, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Links:

The business of killing: Assassinations in South Africa

The Shadow Economy: Uncovering Cape Town's Extortion Networks

The politics of murder: Criminal governance and targeted killings in South Africa

OC Index Country profiles:

South Africa country profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

GITOC - The Observatory of Illicit Economies in East and Southern Africa (ESA-Obs)

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime