UNITED IN GRIEF
Weeping Gelvandale and New Brighton residents line streets to pay respects to murdered taxi driver Garrison Snayers
The wife of slain Port Elizabeth e-hailing taxi driver Garrison Snayers sobbed as she, along with their two children, looked down at the flowers and wooden cross that were placed on the very spot where he was murdered days before.
Balloons with the words “I love you” were first placed with the cross by Snayers’s wife Farren and their children, Gabby, 7, and Macah, 4.
They were later released into the sky with small notes attached to them.
There was not a dry eye in sight as scores of people lined the streets between Gelvandale and New Brighton to pay their respects to Snayers — a gesture his father likened to the spirit of togetherness when SA won the Rugby World Cup in 1995.
The shocking murder sent waves across the Bay, with increased calls from the New Brighton community for law enforcement to catch the criminals that are wreaking havoc in their area.
Snayers’s murder has prompted a pledge of support from mayor Nqaba Bhanga to all community crime-fighting structures in the Bay.
At least 100 cars drove in a convoy from the Gelvandale Stadium to Madala Street in New Brighton, where Snayers was found dead, to pay their respects to him yesterday.
The cross bearing his name was placed on the side of the road where he was shot, along with bunches of flowers from several mourners who extended their support to the family.
Speaker after speaker at his sombre wreath-laying service stressed the need for crime to
be rooted out, with residents of New Brighton saying they lived in absolute fear every day.
Fighting back the tears, Snayers’s father Garreth described his son as a good man.
Commenting on the massive turnout, an emotional Garreth said while he was battling to come to terms with his son’s killing, it brought him joy to see people from both communities coming together.
“As a father my heart is sore, but it feels like 1995 when we won the Rugby World Cup when everyone came together and stood by each other,” he
said. “Here we can see the people of the northern areas and New Brighton care for each other, we are all human beings.
“It is wonderful to see people coming together who don’t want to be divided by crime.
“I still try to remember the last moments I had with my son.
“He was a lovely child and wanted to be a police officer,” Garreth said.
A routine pickup for Snayers on Wednesday turned deadly when after picking up a passenger in Mount Pleasant and dropping them off in New Brighton he was shot multiple times and died on the scene.
He was found slumped over the steering wheel of his blue Suzuki Celerio parked in Madala Street.
His killing was the latest in a string of incidents in recent weeks where e-hailing taxi and online shopping delivery vehicles have been targeted by criminals, leaving drivers questioning their own safety, as well as the safety of their passengers.
No-one has been arrested for Snayers’s killing.
New Brighton residents said crime was fast spiralling out of control in the area.
Garreth said: “I always warned him not to go to New
Brighton and if he needed to then he should alert the police to accompany him.”
The Snayers family, friends, fellow e-hailing taxi drivers, community members and other officials attended the service yesterday.
Madala Street resident Lindiwe Base, 41, said she had lived in the street her entire life, but it had become a haven for criminals.
“It used to be a quiet street but lately people who do not stay here come to rob and steal.”
Base said the situation in the area had become so bad that she had to find an alternative route home to avoid the area where Snayers was shot dead.
Speaking on behalf of New Brighton residents, Xhanti Lamani said people needed to stand together to combat crime.
“We must stand up together as men and women who are sick and tired of this unruly behaviour.
“We are standing up because we are raising families and we need to change the role-modelling in the area,” Lamani said.
Bhanga said instead of allowing criminals operating in the area to divide them, residents were now standing together.
“The only enemy is not among us but it is the criminals,” he said.
“Gelvandale and New Brighton have been brought together and this shows that we can love each other.
“We as a community cannot allow criminals to get away with this any more,” he said, pledging to open and support anti-criminal structures, including neighbourhood watches and similar community policing structures.
Speaking on behalf of ehailing taxi drivers, Khaya Liwa called on communities to help protect them.
“Every time we have to take a trip we are scared we might not get home.
“As drivers we feel bad, we feel the community has let us down a lot.
“We can’t pick up innocent people because it is too dangerous.
“We urge the community to work with us, we are begging for your support for us not to die,” Liwa said.
Community activist Christian Martin said while he mourned Snayers’s death, it was also something that brought communities together to work with each other for the greater good.
“We can do this thing without violence,” Martin said.
Garreth called on the metro and the police to root out criminals from areas where violence was rife.
“This is not about politics or politicians ... we are all here for support and to stand together,” Garreth said.
A private memorial service would be held for Snayers on Wednesday, Garreth said.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said there were still no arrests and that investigations were continuing.
‘Here we can see the people of the northern areas and New Brighton care for each other, we are all human beings. It is wonderful to see people coming together who don’t want to be divided by crime.’