Yaounde: Union leaders decry murder of dozen cab drivers within months.

In an interview granted the state broadcaster, the National President of the Taxi Drivers Union, Mounchirou Amadou, said the issue has left many cab drivers fearing for their lives.

“In less than two months, we have lost eleven taxi drivers. Those attacking our members kill them and then use their taxis to continue working in the city,” Mounchiro decried.

He noted that most of the drivers attacked are those who work at night and in most causes their taxis and other valuables are seized.

According to some drivers, the assailants often use knives to overpower their victims. Others recount that the attackers oftentimes use chemical substances to incapacitate drivers before removing everything on them and escaping with the taxis.

Speaking during a recent press outing in Yaounde, union leaders called for immediate action to stem the rising attacks. 

They also proposed a series of measures to improve security for taxi drivers, particularly in major cities like Yaounde and Douala, where attacks are most recurrent.

The union also proposed the systematic identification of all taxi drivers and the mandatory display of vehicle door numbers. They equally urged authorities to order a crackdown on illegal actors in the transportation business.

The resurgence of unidentified persons in the sector, they said, puts the lives of drivers and passengers at risk.

The leaders of the taxi drivers unions also called for the reinstatement of the city exit permit system which gives room for oversight controls. 

They also expressed the desire for the institution of a special task force under the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Territorial Administration to address the growing insecurity in the sector.

In May 2023, government, through the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, had announced a series of measures aimed at curbing violence against taxi drivers. 

According to the minister then, all vehicles used for public transportation were supposed to be identified by competent local authorities.

Atanga Nji had equally ordered car owners to submit the names of any driver(s), whether permanent or temporary, to authorities for tracking purposes.

Meanwhile, in August 2023, Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Mfoundi, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, issued a release ordering the removal of tinted glasses from all taxis.

The move, the SDO had noted, was to improve visibility inside vehicles. He had also ordered the display of door numbers on taxis to ease security follow up.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3262 of Thursday October 17, 2024