Abandoned house causes fear
Neighbours complain about the abandoned house in KwaThema and say they are worried that it will soon become a home for thieves.
The house at number 420 Nkambule Street in KwaThema has turned into a home for anyone who needs a place to stay, either during the day or at night.
However, neighbours feel that the house that is already a meeting place for the youth who are drug addicts, will soon be a place to hide stolen property from their homes.
During the African Reporter’s visit to the house with Ward councillor Wilson Busakwe on Monday, a group of men estimated to be between 18 and 30 years old, ran away from the house.
The house has three big rooms and a garage, a place allegedly used for meetings by the drug addicts.
All the windows are broken, the grass is high, reaching above the windows, there are no doors and the electricity cables are exposed while the water tap outside the house is destroyed.
At the back of the house there are four big bags full of empty beer bottles.
The filthiness filled the whole yard which makes it looks like a dumping site.
Busakwe promised to find the owner of the house and to see that something is done about it.
“We cannot allow people to abandon their houses because it is true that these houses can turn into storerooms for stolen goods and where criminal activities take place,” said Busakwe.
He added that he is also worried about the safety of the children when crossing from that yard to wait for their school transport on the other side of the street.
“Our children can be robbed of their lunch money, murdered or even raped by the gang that use the house as their home,” said Busakwe.
He said, according to one of the neighbours, the owner of the house abandoned it in 2004 and has lived in the Springs CBD since then.
“We will not allow residents in the townships to live in fear because of the abandoned house in their neighbourhood while the owner lives safely in the CBD or in a suburb,” assured Busakwe.
