WINDHOEK – An elderly taxi driver who says he only drives Khomasdal customers appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday on a charge of assault with intent to cause grievious bodily harm.
Frans Christian, 57, is accused of hitting a 14-year-old schoolgirl from Jan Möhr High School with a clenched fist causing her nose to bleed.
According to the annexure to the charge sheet Christian hit the girl at an intersection in Windhoek West near her school on February 11 this year. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The girl who may not be named because of her age told presiding Magistrate Tuvoye Nuule that she and two friends were waiting at the intersection after school to take a taxi home to Katutura when the accused approached in his taxi and she flagged him down.
She said that after she stopped Christian’s cab, her friends warned her that he only goes to Khomasdal and as she was on her way to Golgota in Katutura, she went to his car and apologised for stopping him. According to the girl who testified in camera, Christian then got out of his car and verbally abused her and she sought refuge behind one of her friends.
After the accused went back to his taxi, she said one of her friends remarked she was scared Christian was going to beat them and they all started to laugh. Christian then came back and shouted at them, ‘Julle lag nog, julle lag nog,’ (you are laughing, you are laughing) after which he proceeded to punch her in the face. Thereafter, he left her there bleeding and drove off, the girl testified. She told the court that she was bleeding from the nose and had a headache. She said that one of her friends took down the taxi number and they then went to report the matter to their principal who called the police and the girl’s mother.
The mother who likewise may not be identified to protect the identity of the minor girl took to the stand earlier and related to the court that she was at work when the principal called her and informed her that her child was hit by a taxi driver.
The visibly distraught mother testified that she went to the police station after the phone call and found her child there with her shirt full of blood.
She explained to the court that she was advised by the police officers present to open a case against the taxi driver.
According to the mother Christian acknowledged that he hit the girl ‘because she showed him the middle finger,’ and offered to pay for any damages and suffering, but she refused.
But Christian had a different tale to tell. According to him his taxi is clearly marked Khomasdal and the girls first stopped a Katutura taxi and then his taxi and started to laugh, run away and showed him the “middle finger”.
He said that he got out of his cab, went to the girl and showed her his finger in her face and told her not to do it again.
According to him the girl continued laughing at him and he got out of his cab again and hit her. He also bemoaned the fact that school children are always teasing taxi drivers, stopping their taxis and then laugh and run away.
This was witnessed firsthand by this reporter on various occasions, especially at the intersection of the MVA Fund.
Many taxi drivers New Era spoke to complained of the same harassment, but declined to be named for fear of reprisals.
Principal of Jan Möhr, Clements Kloppers, assured this reporter that such behaviour is not tolerated at his school. He advised taxi drivers who endure this abuse to identify the culprits and bring them to his attention.
According to Kloppers, he will call in the parents of those found to be guilty of this practice and they will be severely dealt with.
Uapingana Karuaera of the Namibia Public Passenger Transport Association said that his organisation does not condone taxi drivers beating up people. He advised taxi drivers to refrain from such action as it will give them an even worse reputation.
Karuaera called on all stakeholders in the transport industry to come together to formulate a policy on the way forward.
State prosecutor Seredine Jacobs wanted to know from Christian whether he merely beat the girl because she was laughing at him and showed him the middle finger, to which he replied:”I see this every day, I cannot take it any further, it happens every day, not only her.”
Jacobs then wanted to know whether it’s not in fact what the complainant did that made him angry, but the history behind it, to which he replied in Afrikaans: “Die taxi driver sal maar altyd die vark in die verhaal wees,” (the taxi driver will always be the pig/scapegoat in the story).
Nuule postponed the matter to October 16 for submissions on the verdict and Christian is out on N$500 bail.
By Roland Routh