Cape Town man sorry 'for upsetting anyone' with 'joke' about taxi strike

Cape Town DJ Terence Williams has apologised for upsetting many with his TikTok video making a “joke” about the minibus taxi strike. 

In a now-viral video, Williams expressed joy about the “conveniences” of the violent taxi strike.

“Has anyone noticed how quiet the streets are lately? There hasn’t been a single drop of traffic for the past three days. Everyone’s got smiles on their faces, everyone’s driving [and] the roads are empty. The sun even came out. All the clouds went away,” he said. 

“It’s been summer for the past three days and this is since the taxis have gone on strike, and they’ve decided they’re not going to be working and they [are] not on the roads. 

“Yes, it is bad, where they are striking they are burning things, but for the rest of us, it's been wonderful.

“We have got to figure out how can we keep the taxis on strike so they don’t have to come back onto the roads. They must stay on strike.”

The video received backlash after media personality Siv Ngesi re-shared it on his Instagram account, calling out Williams. 

“This is how privilege looks like. It doesn’t matter that many are dying, losing jobs, walking home for hours, companies looted and children getting hurt. Then they say we are playing the 'race card',” said Ngesi.

In his response, Williams said: “This was made as a joke before s**t hit the fan and people got hurt and stranded. I apologise for upsetting anyone, it wasn't my intent. This was posted before people were stranded and before things got violent, but I apologise for anyone I have upset.”

Williams also issued a letter to Ngesi threatening to press charges against him for re-sharing his video. 

“Your client has illegally taken a video of mine and posted it to try [to] shame and mislead people. I have received countless threats against my life through a video he took and posted on his public social media.

“I'm going to be pressing charges and suing. I [have] kindly asked your client to respond with his reasoning but no response. So I'm left with no choice [but] to take this matter to the law.”

TimesLIVE