Afrikaans Uber cars impounded

Afrikaans-focused e-hailing app Wanatu has temporarily halted its services after “unlawful” impounding of its vehicles by the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD).

Wanatu, which has operated in Pretoria and Centurion since October 2024, informed customers of the decision in SMSs and on its social media pages.

“Wanatu services are temporarily suspended due to TMPD unlawfully impounding our vehicles and intimidating of our drivers,” the notification stated.

The company said it would be going to court over the issue. “Ons gaan HOFTU,” it said in Afrikaans.

The development comes after Gauteng Provincial Legislature member Ayanda Allie accused the Tshwane metro of applying double standards when it came to impounding e-hailing vehicles for operating without the necessary permits.

E-hailing drivers have bemoaned the metro’s stronghanded enforcement of the new requirement, which only became compulsory for their services from June 2024 after an amendment to the National Land Transport Act came into effect.

The issue led to a strike by the E-hailing Partners Council (EPC) on 23 January 2025.

While e-hailing drivers, operators, and associations have welcomed the requirement to obtain a permit, the Gauteng province’s roads and transport department has stopped issuing them due to a backlog of more than 20,000 applications.

During her interviews with e-hailing drivers from Bolt and Uber, Allie bumped into a driver from Wanatu, who explained he did not have a road carrier permit.

Allie followed up with Wanatu CEO Judith van der Walt, who allegedly said she was not aware that the company’s drivers required road carrier permits.

At the time, Van der Walt told Allie that none of Wanatu’s cars had been impounded by TMPD.

While she had no issue with the service itself, Allie accused Tshwane of double standards in enforcing its policies against drivers of the different services.

“Our issue is not necessarily with Wanatu, at least not right now,” she said. “They operate as they’ve been allowed to operate.”

“Our issue is with a biased TMPD that impounds the vehicles of some and not others — for the same offence. They discriminate, for reasons best known to them.”

Tshwane hits back

Allie directed her grievances over the issue to Tshwane roads and transport MMC Tlangi Mogale.

Mogale denied that TMPD was not acting against Wanatu and said that the city only became aware of the company’s activities in the last week of January 2025.

She revealed that at least one of the company’s vehicles had been impounded.

“They sent their lawyer to come and make representations to try and get the vehicle released,” said Mogale.

“He could not succeed as he was told that the vehicle didn’t have an operating licence.”

“He could not understand and he was referred to the provincial transport operating licencing administrative body.”

“He then said they were transporting learners in the Centurion area [and was] told that they should apply for learner/scholar transport operating licenses.”

Mogale also accused Wanatu of only recruiting “Afrikanner speaking” drivers, a practice the metro deemed unacceptable.

Mogale conflated the cultural identity of “Afrikaner”, most commonly adopted by white people, with the language of Afrikaans.

Wanatu has no requirements that drivers be Afrikaners, only that they must be able to speak Afrikaans.

The vast majority of Afrikaans speakers in South Africa are not Afrikaners or white people.

MyBroadband also asked Wanatu for comment on whether it had applied for obtained road carrier permits.

Its decision to temporary halt its services came a few hours after our queries.