The Honeymoon is Over

I've had to endure this subdued headache for the past couple of weeks. It first emerged on an unsuspecting Sunday morning while reading about the murder of foreigner, Anni Dewani, in an apparent hijacking in Guguletu. Obviously the story soon developed racing horse legs and galloped off around a dizzying track of speculation. It wasn't long before the "Who dunnit?" question was transmogrified into a sensational "He could've dunnit" referring to Anni's husband, Shrien. And so the story galloped on and on, off the beaten track into the wilderness of rumours. Sure the incident had all the trademarks of a juicy story. The couple was on their honeymoon, they'd only been married a few weeks, etc. Then the uncomfortable questions - why wasn't Shrien harmed? What were they doing in a township at night in the first place?! The headache threatens to become a migraine.
Arrests followed, informal media blackouts put in place followed by journalists' favourite quote, "No comment" and further arid, mindless statements from the police as they awkwardly tried to dispell the rumours. They have failed dismally in this regard.
But amid all this, as a reporter also covering the story, I noticed a glaring lack of coverage of just how such an incident impacts on Joe Public. Of course Dewani's murder was a tragedy and the rumours doing the rounds must only add to the trauma her family is feeling. But what of the impact this single incident has had on the people of Guguletu, namely tour operators, informal vendors and other businesses. They rely almost solely on tourist money and in one fell swoop , either through the actions of common criminals or other more sinister motives, their livelihoods are in for a rather tough (tougher than usual) festive season.
We can formulate all the elaborate conspiracy theories we want, unleash our ire on intolerably high levels of crime, damn law enforcement authorities for not doing enough, but have we been asking just how big a dent into the daily livelihoods of township tour businesspeople this one case has made? I visited Guguletu in the days after Dewani's murder and was met with grim stories from tour guides on visitors cancelling their "township tours" en masse. The dollars, pounds and euros wafted off into the horizon. The hopeful ones I met kept smiles on their faces as they shrugged their shoulders saying things will and must get better.
Instead the spotlight stays trained on Shrien Dewani, a millionaire who has employed the services of one of Britain's most expensive PR agents to deal with us pesky journalists. I wonder, if all of Guguletu's tourist fraternity had to pool their resources together, would they even be able to pay one months salary of Dewani's fancy-pants "PR guru" to issue flowery statements from a cushy firts world office abroad. I doubt it. Shrien Dewani is innocent until proven guilty, that's the old adage one attach's to such matters, but he's not even a suspect at this stage.
However, if he ever were to be arrested I'd expect rage among township tour guides. One B and B owner in Guguletu spat venom after reading a newspaper report about the speculation around the businessman and the murder of his wife perhaps being a hit. "The bastard" she shouted, not taking into account the fact the story she was reading was based almost solely on unconfirmed details from the proverbial source.
Whether this was just another case of 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' or a hit, this woman had every right to be angry - not just because it could be yet another brutal example of South Africa's crime situation, but also because two tourists, either through their own naivety or through more untoward circumstances, Guguletu and almost all townships again have to endure the label of being crime havens.

Taxi Drivers - The Last Great Anarchists

In a country which exists quite comfortably amid anarchy, it's only natural the most anarchic among us are also the most needed. Talk about irony. You see them on the roads, on residential streets, highways, on gravel roads, pavements and on lawns, hanging from bidges, in waterbodies and sometimes even lodged in homes. They have absolutely no regard for others, selfishness is ingrained in their very genetic make-up. They wear their disregard for laws and the most basic of rules quite proudly. 'Hoot, it won't help' read one message on on of their vehicles (a glorified death trap with really posh mags) commandeered by these masses of self-styled anarchists. 'Boeta is jou man' read another opaque reference to the 'commander' of one of these vehicles of mass destruction. Have you guessed who I'm referring to yet? taxi drivers, of course, those masters of road fear and sources of road rage. Those road law heretics.
The majority of us seem to tolerate them. We have to, we have very little choice. They ferry around 60 percent of the country's workforce to and from their places of employment. They are unfortunately the lifeblood of our very backward public transport system and in some cok-eyed way, our economy. In yet another exampleof tragic irony, they are also the cause of so much needless bloodletting on the roads.
When they strike, at the drop of a hat these days, the country feels the pinch... no, make that a kick to the groin, remebre this, it comes from a virtually completely lawless industry which runs parallel to some of the most dangerous, lucrative organised crime syndicates in the country. It's not unfair to liken them to criminals. If any law enforcement body in this country had the guts to really investigate the taxi industry they'd more than likely find a thriving network of crime, breeding like an infection, which speeds through our society, destroying, maiming and not ever really caring. But of course the moment a politician or lawmakers makes any kind of bold condemnation of these taxi syndicatesor followed by concrete recourse, drivers drop their keys in yet another strike and life almost screeches to a halt. Who has the real power?
Authorities do try the occasional crackdown, which results in nothing more but figures (press releases filled with numbers of taxi drivers arrested, how many vehicles have been impounded, the faults which were found with their taxis, which makes for some alarming reading). Traffic officials pat themselves on the back, of course, because they are doing their job. But rarely do we see these operations actually result in meaningful changes among the bosses, the Mafiosos who have the real keys to the industry. A bribe here (and everywhere?), a complete disdain for road laws and the consequences of their actions, warnings, threats and claims of drivers being unfairly targeted follow. Before long, the next taxi accident, claiming multiple lives (usually never the taxi driver's) makes the news, usually only the tailender of a news bulletin or the corner of a newspaper.
Taxi drivers are maybe the last real anarchists of our time. Them and their bosses act with impunity towards the rest of the world. They know no laws and scoff at threats from our powers(less)-that-be. They speed, jump red traffic lights, drive in emergency lanes, flout most vehicle roadworthy regulations and do so almost with arrogant smiles on their faces. Who's really in the driver's seat?All we can do is sit in the slow lane, amid traffic jams and general chaos, all the while fuming with hatred. Is road the rage the solution?Of course it's not. But sometimes, just sometimes I wish I could just inflict as much inconvenience on taxi drivers as they do on me. Even then, I doubt it would make a difference. As anarchists they are immune to just about everything... especially behaving cordially on the roads.