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Maskandi star takes on taxi drivers

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front seat A scene from Mashayabhuqe KaMamba’s KwaDukuza video that deals with women being harassed in taxisPHOTO: youtube
front seat A scene from Mashayabhuqe KaMamba’s KwaDukuza video that deals with women being harassed in taxisPHOTO: youtube

Digital maskandi star Mashayabhuqe KaMamba’s latest music video is stirring the nation’s emotions with its powerful portrayal of the daily sexual harassment and violence that female passengers on taxis must endure.

In the recently released video for his 2016 song KwaDukuza, a young woman must cope with constantly being ushered to the front seat of the taxi, next to the driver, on her route to and from her job at a township crèche. He gropes and flirts with her, and tries to buy her affections with a cellphone.

But that is not the worst of her problems.

Mashayabhuqe KaMamba's latest song, KwaDukuza

In the video, artfully directed by award-winning young film maker Lebogang Rasethaba, the driver is also feuding with a newcomer over control of his route. It ends in bloodshed, with the young woman caught in the crossfire.

Mashayabhuqe told City Press this week that he roped in Rasethaba for his directing talents so that together “we could try to get people to love their scars”, given the violence and trauma many South Africans have to endure.

The maskandi star added that we should acknowledge these issues.

He and Rasethaba are driven to use their art to try to tackle social ills when nothing else seems to be making an impact.

The cleverly written song pleads with men to change their ways when it comes to their harassing women.

“We did not want to show violence just for the sake of it,” said the popular musician, who gives traditional Zulu music a digital twist and a hard, contemporary dance edge.

He said his fans’ response to the video had been “amazing” and attributed this largely to the story in the video being easy for South Africans to relate to.

Although Mashayabhuqe’s fame is growing, he remains rooted and humble during our phone chat. At one point, there is a brief pause in our conversation so that he can yell out to a passing friend, “It’s the City Press – we shining, man!”

This week, City Press visited Bree Street taxi rank in Johannesburg to ask female commuters if the issues in the KwaDukuza video resonated with them.

The women, all of them students, shared similar stories.

“When you get into a taxi, the taxi driver wants your phone number. It happens all the time,” said Thulisa Thethane.

“If you say no to them when they ask for your number, they will tell you things like: ‘You think you’re beautiful?’, or ‘You’re not beautiful’,” said Evidence Mulaudzi.

“I also think they undress me with their eyes when they look at me. They make me uncomfortable with their stares,” she added.

“My friend is in matric. She was in a taxi and they tried raping her, but luckily, she jumped out. There were five men, and they beat her badly,” said Lethogonolo Mosope.

“Taxi drivers make you feel uncomfortable if you’re wearing short skirts or tight clothing. We use taxis every day and they should not tell us what to wear,” said Linda Jobela.

A 27-year-old driver, Bongani Mavuso, agreed with the women’s assessment of the situation, but said: “Not all taxi drivers are the same ... I am a taxi driver as well and I think it all comes down to how and where you were raised.

“But what I have noticed is that some of our colleagues transport passengers while under the influence of alcohol, which somehow enhances their sexual desires,” he said.

“Some women live far from bus stops where they would normally get off during the day, so drivers have to drive almost all the way to where they live, which is where things can turn very quickly.”

Asked this week about the video’s issue-driven approach, Rasethaba said: “If you point a camera at something, it makes whatever that is, important. You elevate it to be worthy of public opinion.”

Watch the video and the taxi rank interviews at

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