Motorists travelling on Cape Town's N2 near Langa on Tuesday morning thought they'd seen a taxi driver take his last breath, as he was pushed to the ground and strangled after he resisted arrest by traffic officers.
A video of the incident soon went viral, showing the driver on the ground, with passengers wailing ''he killed him, he killed him!', leaving many netizens believing the driver was no more.
However, in a shocking twist, the driver later revealed on X that he is alive and in police custody.
"It is me, I am alive, I am not dead. the problem is that people are saying I am dead, but I am not, I fainted when the traffic police strangled me but after a while I regained consciousness," said the taxi driver.
"As we speak, I'm at the police station, I'm just alerting the community that I'm alive."
According to eyewitnesses, the taxi driver was stopped by traffic officers on the N2, but he refused to pull over initially. After eventually complying, an argument ensued, leading to a physical confrontation between the driver and the officers. One of the officers allegedly strangled the driver, leaving him motionless on the ground.
In a statement released by the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith stated that the driver's actions put his passengers and other road users at risk, but this was aggravated by the fact that he resisted arrest after traffic officers stopped his vehicle, placing himself and the officers in danger.
Smith further said that because the incident went viral on social media, with many believing the driver was dead, tensions quickly ramped up in the Cape Town CBD.
"This misinformation has now also resulted in unnecessary tensions in the CBD, seemingly involving some within the minibus industry, with an illegal gathering, the closure of roads and holding two of our law enforcement officers hostage. Their colleagues have since freed them.
'These actions are illegal and will inevitably lead to an escalation of conflict, and I call on those involved to cease and desist and allow the law to take its course," he said.
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