How a rowdy taxi rank was tamed

A well-known Setswana proverb states: ‘Tamati ha e bodile e bodisa tse dingwe’ and this is what typically happens in terms of the behaviour of groups of individuals. The English version of this proverb, one bad apple spoils the bunch, finds itself in situations where the misbehaviour of one or two people is taken to represent the entire group.

In many towns around the country, bad apples or tomatoes have spoilt the rest in taxi and bus ranks, leading to them becoming known as cesspits of verbal and physical abuse, particularly against young women. The abuse is led by drivers, their touts and random taxi rank layabouts, who use mob psychology to intimidate, taunt or ridicule any soft target.