Wanatu, often dubbed South Africa’s “Afrikaans Uber”, has big ambitions to spread its wings across the country.
Launched in October 2024, the service aims to dethrone giants Uber and Bolt by addressing key e-hailing industry issues.
Mainly, it employs its drivers full time instead of treating them as independent contractors and they are therefore entitled to more privileges and have better job security.
The company also owns its entire fleet of vehicles instead of requiring the driver to use their own, all of which are equipped with a dashcam and inward-facing camera, GPS tracking device, two-way radio system, and panic button.
Another benefit is that the vehicles stay in tip-top shape as they are maintained by a business instead of a cash-strapped individual.
Wanatu has thus far only been available in Pretoria and Centurion, Gauteng, and its fleet has consisted of 50 branded Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrids.
Wanatu CEO Judith van der Walt recently told MyBroadband that these limitations will soon be removed.
In Pretoria and Centurion, it intends to double its fleet to 100 vehicles to support its rapid growth.
Additionally, Wanatu is looking to expand services to more towns and provinces “soon,” said Van der Walt, though the areas and dates remain to be confirmed.
Wanatu bounces back
Since it launched last year, Wanatu has been embroiled in controversies.
Initially, the company caught flack for its policy of only hiring drivers who are fluent in Afrikaans.
While Wanatu said anyone can apply for the job and built translation features into its app to allow riders who may not be able to speak the language to still communicate to drivers, legal experts believe that the rule could constitute discrimination.
Attorneys from Werksmans Attorneys said the Afrikaans prerequisite could contravene Section 9(4) of the Constitution and Section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act, unless the company could prove that excluding people based on their language abilities is rational, justifiable, and inherently linked to the job.
Both these acts specifically prohibit “direct and indirect discrimination based on language.”
“If Wanatu employs its drivers rather than engaging them as independent contractors, its Afrikaans proficiency requirement could contravene these provisions,” they said.
Shortly afterwards things seemed to go more downhill for Wanatu.
Its cars started being targeted by the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) for its operators allegedly not having the correct permits to carry passengers.
While they were able to prove that they didn’t have these permits as the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) stopped accepting and processing applications, the TMPD didn’t care.
Traffic officers impounded two of Wanatu’s vehicles for the alleged transgression, after which the company completely ceased operations on 5 February 2025 to protect its employees as it launched a legal battle against the GDRT.
A clever move, Wanatu didn’t just fight for its own but invited e-hailing drivers from all platforms to join its movement as dozens of operators have in the past few months voiced their dissatisfaction with the GDRT’s inefficiencies.
These drivers were in a similar boat, as they all applied to get their permits but didn’t receive them due to the GDRT’s backlog, and in turn, they were forced to decide between not earning an income at all or to continue operating to put bread on the table and risk getting in trouble with the law. Many chose the latter, and saw their vehicles impounded as a result.
After opening its lines, Wanatu received approximately 200 emails within two days from other e-hailing drivers who claimed to have been accosted by the TMPD.
Together, Wanatu and these individuals took on the Gauteng government and emerged victorious.
On 21 February, the North Gauteng High Court granted an urgent interdict prohibiting the TMPD from impounding e-hailing vehicles until the process of obtaining permits is resumed.
Within an hour of this ruling being delivered, Wanatu was back on the roads, and it seems like any press is good press, as it has simply kept on growing ever since.
“Our trip volumes recovered and increased after the interdict,” said CEO Van der Walt.
By 12h00 on 11 March 2025, registered Wanatu users soared to 62,662, over double the number it had less than two months ago.
“We are humbled by the steadfast support of our users and community,” she said.
Van der Walt added that Wanatu drivers haven’t been troubled by the TMPD since the court ruling.
The company plans to close the matter soon, as it approached the High Court to seek a ruling that e-hailing services be exempted from applying for road carrier permits, or a mandamus order forcing the GDRT to accept and process applications.
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