Derelict house demolished in Morningside
While the ailing structure was nothing more than an eyesore for some residents, others raised alarm bells after discovering a host of refugees living in inhumane conditions.
A DERELICT house on the corner of Problem Mkhize and Sandile Thusi roads was demolished recently. For years, the derelict house has been a bone of contention for members of the Berea community. In April last year, the house was engulfed in flames after a fire broke out.
While the ailing structure was nothing more than an eyesore for some residents, others raised alarm bells after discovering that the premises was home to a host of refugees living in inhumane conditions.
Cheryl Johnson of civic organisation, Save Our Berea (SOB), said plans to demolish the building were opposed by refugees living on the premises. According to Johnson, the previous owner, who was allegedly renting the space to refugees, died, and the home was sold to a new owner who tried to demolish the house. SOB has been raising the issue with authorities since the organisation’s inception eight years ago.
“That house has been a bone of contention for years. Everyone knew about it – the house is on a main route – everyone saw it when driving past. The trouble started with the previous owner – I think he has since passed away. I believe he received permission to demolish the house years ago, but he didn’t. He allowed refugees to stay there and pay him,” said Johnson.
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Johnson visited the house about four years ago.
“There were a lot of people living there. The conditions were terrible. They all had jobs; they were not homeless but refugees, desperate for a place to stay. The place was disgusting – full to the brim with rubbish. We called the health department several times to ask them to go there and inspect,” recalled Johnson.
“I never received any complaints about the refugees, just complaints about the eyesore. We tried really hard to get the City to address it,” added Johnson.
Carol Kidger has lived on Problem Mkhize Road near the dilapidated house for 20 years.
“We saw that house go from a beautiful home to an absolute derelict. At one stage, there were at least 35 people living there with no toilet and no water,” she said.
She said the site had contributed to rising crime in the area.
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“We had the back section of our house broken into six times. After the aluminium wall went up, we would see people come in and steal pieces of the wall,” said Kidger.
As the structure is demolished, Kidger hopes to see her area improve.
“We are absolutely delighted, but we don’t know what the future holds. We’ve been told that there will be an underground parking and shops on top, although the area is zoned for residential use,” she said.
The eThekwini Municipality was not available at the time this article went to press.
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