According to Blythedale residents chaos erupted on the blue flag beach with drinking in public, loud music and vandalism over the festive season from December 16.
KwaDukuza SAPS spokesperson Johannes Khoza said a man was stabbed to death in the car park and a woman raped on the beach during the new years Blythedale beach festival.
“People were picnicking on our laws, taxis blocked our driveways and passengers jumped out and danced in the streets while openly consuming alcohol” said resident Lizelle van Wyk who also sent us a video of the chaos.
She said party goers urinated against her garden wall and overturned the only porter-loo in sight.
“People could be seen having sex in full view of residents and a nearby neighbour cleaned the hedge in front of his property and found used condoms and panties in the hedge,” said resident Willie Appelkruin.
He added that he felt for the municipal cleaners who had to clean up that disgusting mess day after day and he wondered what they were thinking.
The KwaDukuza traffic police closed the main road into Blythedale and reportedly would not let residential permit holders through, while beach goers were allowed to park their cars in the residential area.
This infuriated resident Jodi van Wyk.
“When I pointed out that I have a resident’s permit and there is no other way to my house, she rolled her eyes and told me to go down there but if I got stuck or something happened, it was my own story,” said Jodi.
She claimed the police were more interested in protecting hooligans than the people who paid rates to live there.
Blythedale rate payers association representative Bing Comrie said residents were unable to sleep through the ongoing cacophony of screaming voices, blaring boom boxes and exploding fireworks that accompanied wild dancing and unbridled alcohol consumption in a public area.
“How the municipality allows thousands of people to converge into Blythedale day after day is unbelievable,” said Comrie.
He said the situation would have been catastrophic were it not for a large SAPS who deserve a huge thank you for their efforts.
“Sadly the same cannot be said for the community safety officers who could have done a lot more to control the chaos,” said Comrie.
Adding to their frustration, Blythedale residents were woken by helicopters circling the beach, something that sounded like a loud toyi-toyi with whistles, screaming and chanting and howling police sirens on Friday, January 2.
“Blythedale is supposed to be a blue flag beach and it is an absolute joke,” said resident Rordon Cowley.
He said the blue flag beach has looked more like a rubbish dump since December 16.
KwaDukuza mayor Ricardo Mthembu is believed to live in a beachfront apartment in Blythedale and Cowley wanted to know if he was proud of his blue flag beach.
Neither Mthembu or KDM could be reached for comment.
