It is utterly deplorable that our city has become all too accustomed to eruptions of violence.
On Wednesday afternoon, it was the turn of the busy Durban Road business district in Korsten to be rocked by chaos, with pedestrians, shoppers and motorists forced to scatter for their lives when shots rang out and a number of vehicles went up in flames.
According to police, the catalyst for this mayhem was a road-rage incident that followed a collision between a minibus taxi and a car driven by a local businessman.
A physical altercation ensued between the businessman, who is a foreigner, and the taxi driver.
Other taxi drivers then joined the fray.
Other traders, also foreigners, came to the aid of their compatriot, whose car had reportedly been set alight by the taxi drivers, firing weapons and torching several parked minibus taxis.
It transpires that for some time there has been simmering tension between the shop owners and taxi drivers operating in the area, not least because both sides say traffic regulations are not being policed in the area.
That such petty friction can so quickly erupt into these alarming scenes of violence is deeply disturbing.
Also of grave concern is the potential for such conflict to morph into xenophobic violence with possibly devastating consequences.
We need to remember that foreigners have often been targeted by criminal elements who see them as easy prey and this is a major reason shopkeepers are often armed to the teeth.
Moreover, the last thing we need is more violence involving the taxi industry.
The Korsten chaos comes in the wake of a taxi war where e-hailing drivers were targeted by minibus taxi operators in a violent tussle over turf that threatened lives and livelihoods.
This time around there should be no more hot-headed behaviour.
Both the taxi industry bosses and the traders’ organisations urgently need to intervene and rein in their members.
It cannot be acceptable that disputes mean people’s lives and property are threatened, let alone attacked.
The authorities also have to send out a firm message that thuggery does not belong on our streets and they will not tolerate a situation where members of the public have reason to fear for their lives while going about their everyday business.
Anarchy and violence cannot be allowed to prevail over law and order in Korsten, or anywhere else.
HeraldLIVE
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