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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
A WAR between pirate taxis and kombi crews has escalated at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), with commuter omnibus operators allegedly attacking passengers for not boarding their vehicles.

This is not the first time passengers have fallen victim to the seemingly unending wars between pirate taxis and kombi operators.

Last year, kombi crews operating from UBH allegedly provoked bees that went on to attack people who were opting for pirate taxis, typically Honda Fit vehicles.

People are now increasingly being attacked by kombi crews as they try to prevent them from going to their rivals.

UBH’s chief executive officer Nonhlanhla Ndlovu yesterday said: “I can’t comment on kombi crews. They’re external to the hospital.”

UBH employees said both patients and workers were repeatedly attacked by the kombi operators plying the UBH route.

The Chronicle news crew spoke to kombi crews who said their fight was against pirate taxis only. A kombi driver, Chrispen Maphosa, said they were losing business to pirate taxis which are smaller and fill up fast, therefore attracting passengers who do not want to wait.

“It’s not true that we attack passengers. We’ve nothing against the passengers. But when they intervene when we’re blocking pirate taxis, we then engage in altercations with them. Our fight is not with the passengers but the pirate taxis,” said Maphosa.

He said pirate taxis are not remitting anything to the government yet they are on the roads every day transporting people.

“We need the government’s protection. This is how we sustain our families and we can’t just sit back when someone threatens our livelihood,” he said.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango said they have not received any report concerning harassment of passengers at UBH.

“We have nothing on that, but since you’ve highlighted, it we’ll closely monitor the situation,” said Insp Simango.

She said the police were actively arresting pirate taxi operators all over town, but more cars were being put on the road daily.