The City of Tshwane's legal battle with Wanatu, an Afrikaans-only e-hailing service, rages on after the metro decided to challenge last month’s urgent court interdict forbidding metro police from confiscating vehicles operated without valid permits.

Municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo, said the city's legal team has applied for leave to appeal, following an opinion from external legal counsel.

The move comes after the city announced plans to seek a judicial review of the ruling and obtain external legal advice.

Mashigo said: “An opinion received by the city from its external legal team was studied and reflected on. The opinion recommended that the decision of the High Court be appealed and as such the external legal team was given instructions to proceed with an application for leave to appeal.”

Wanatu, launched in October 2024, has been at the centre of controversy due to its policy of hiring only Afrikaans-speaking drivers.

The company has defended its stance, citing the need to promote the Afrikaans language and cultural heritage. However, critics have labelled the move as "blatant racism".

The court interdict was obtained after Wanatu mobilised rival operators, including Uber, Bolt, and inDrive, to collectively challenge the metro police at the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.

In court, they successfully argued that it was impossible for them to obtain permits because the Department of Roads and Transport had stopped accepting and processing permit applications.

They were expected to file a full court application after the interdict to compel the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport to finally process the long-outstanding permit applications.

Wanatu did not respond to a request for comment regarding its next course of action and reaction to views that the e-hailing company is discriminating against people who don’t speak Afrikaans by hiring Afrikaans-speaking drivers only.

However, Wanatu's Chief Executive Officer Judith van der Walt reportedly said the company is seeking absolute clarity on the permit issue.

She said Wanatu has taken its case to the High Court, requesting a definitive ruling that would either exempt e-hailing services from obtaining road carrier permits or issue a mandamus order compelling the Gauteng Transport Department to accept and process pending applications.

She reportedly said following the interdict, the company experienced a significant rebound in trip volumes, which showed notable growth.

Matters came to a head last month when drivers from various e-hailing services voiced concerns that a specific Afrikaans-only e-hailing service, operating in Centurion and Pretoria, seemed to be exempt from the metro police's crackdown on non-compliant operators.

Other e-hailers claimed that despite allegedly lacking the necessary permits, Wanatu service appeared to be spared from enforcement actions.

Tlangi Mogale, MMC for Roads and Transport, countered claims of unfair treatment, stating that the metro police enforce regulations equally among all drivers, particularly when it comes to cracking down on vehicles operating without proper permits.

Mogale has publicly denounced Wanatu's exclusively Afrikaans operations, characterising them as "blatant racism".

Mlungisi Mabuya, secretary-general of the Pretoria West e-hailers, previously pointed out the apparent disparity in treatment, saying mainstream e-hailing operators like Bolt and Uber seem to be easy targets for metro police.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

permit

Legal battle intensifies as Tshwane challenges Wanatu e-hailing permit ruling