Confused woman creates her own refuse dump
Action was taken against a homeless woman who has become a familiar face in town and who collects massive amounts of junk.
The woman first attracted attention when she set up a shack on the pavement, right in front of the Brakpan Police Station, about a year ago.
After many attempts by the police and other law enforcement agencies, she eventually packed up her shelter, only to move around the corner.
She became a familiar face in Prince George Avenue, still in close vicinity to the police station.
The woman, who claims that she was born on January 1, 1963, seems to live in her own world and cannot hold a meaningful conversation.
Over the past few months she has collected a massive amount of junk, including plastic bottles, old blankets and clothing, papers and boxes.
She cleverly erected a storage place for her collection in front of the Charl Baard Stadium. Over the past few weeks this structure grew bigger in size and became a terrible eyesore.
On Friday morning members of the EMPD, accompanied by security guards and employees of the metro’s Waste Department demolished the self-made storage place and removed most of the rubbish.
The Herald spoke to the woman, who was clearly confused about the situation.
She told the Herald her name is Happiness Mngladi and that she does not have a place to stay.
Asked why she collected such a huge amount of junk, she told the Herald that people gave it to her and that she needed it.
She also said that she has seven children and that her mother is still alive. She could not, however, say where any of them stay.
She also spoke about politics and how she was done in when she tried to apply for an ID book in 1990.
The woman sat and watched as her heap of trash was loaded into a refuse removal truc
k. She then held up a number plate and said that people are stealing cars in Hatfield and selling them in Brakpan.
She also spoke about Mandela and England and said she would like to move closer to the Lakeside Mall, in Benoni.
She claims that she still sleeps near the police station every night, in fear of being raped.
“Somebody did try to rape me once,” she said.
The metro employees removed most of the accumulated rubbish, but left some of the items that she held onto.
On Monday morning she was back on the pavement near the police station, clinging to the few things she has left.
