A group of e-hailing drivers in South Africa has gone viral on social media for taking a stance against widespread criminal activity.
Known as the Wolves, the group is based in Gauteng and is made up of drivers from popular e-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt who are taking a vigilante-like stance against assailants in the province.
Responding to a hostile environment
E-hailing drivers around South Africa are often on the receiving end of violent actions by opportunistic criminals and organized groups.
They are a frequent target for hijackers and their operations have been threatened on multiple occasions by taxi organizations nationwide.
One such incident occurred in June 2023 in Soweto, Gauteng where the conflict between Uber and taxi drivers resulted in at least four e-hailing cars being torched and three drivers injured.
These events occurred outside various malls in Soweto and were allegedly the result of a territory dispute, with e-hailing drivers claiming that the owners of the Soweto Taxi Association accused them of “stealing their business.”
Destroyed e-hailing cars outside a mall in Soweto.
In light of events like these, a group of Uber and Bolt drivers formed the Wolves in Eldorado Park, Soweto as a way to protect themselves and their passengers from criminal activities.
One of the founding members, who goes by the callsign Wolf #14, recently appeared on Cape Talk to discuss the movement.
He explained that they use these callsigns to de-identify their members and represent the group as a whole, and that the idea began in February this year as a response to the ineffectual assistance provided by the South African Police Services.
The Wolves act as a safety net for the drivers where an individual can report an incident to the group, who then mobilize their members to go and look for the offending party and protect their own.
This raised the question of whether the Wolves’ actions amount to vigilantism, but Wolf #14 quickly responded to the accusation.
“How sure are you that we don’t have people within the police force that are working with us,” he said.
He mentioned that there are people in law enforcement working with the Wolves but that they cannot expose who these individuals are, and that they are helping the Wolves on their own time.
The e-hailing group has also created a community for these drivers, who meet up outside of work and attend events like soccer matches.
Wolf #14 was further asked how members protect themselves from armed criminals, but declined to comment, describing it as a “sensitive topic.”
“We’re just regular, everyday sisters, brothers, aunties, and fathers. We’re just normal people protecting each other,” he said.
The Wolves currently have around 370 members and can be identified by a green wolf sticker with their number on the back of their cars.
A Wolves sticker shown on TikTok.
The movement’s actions have been gaining popularity on social media with their TikTok account accumulating over 46,500 followers, which has led to members of the public alerting them to crimes as if they are a private security company.
However, its leaders stress that it only exists to protect its members.
The Wolves are planning to cap their membership at 600, though it wants to spread the movement throughout other provinces in South Africa.
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