VIDEO: Illegal shacks found in Umgeni Park
Continued clean up operations will be necessary to clear piles of litter surrounding the shacks, said acting ward 36 councillor, Shontel de Boer.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2020/08/bush-2.jpg)
EIGHT illegal shacks were discovered in the bush along Riverside Road on Monday, 3 August during a joint operation between Marshall Security, SAPS, and the Umgeni Park Community Policing Forum (UPCPF).
Continued clean up operations will be necessary to clear the area of litter, said acting ward 36 councillor, Shontel de Boer who attended the operation.
“We found lots of shacks and we found people sleeping in the shacks. There were a lot of women. We need to do a follow up clean up because there is a lot of garbage in the area. The smell is terrible. I don’t know how people were living in those conditions because it was really bad. It looks like it’s something we need to continue to do once or twice a month- to clear out rubbish from the area,” she said.
Also read: Gateway store robbed by armed gang
De Boer said representatives from the Department of Natural Resources, Land Invasion Unit and Department of Environmental Health were also sent out to the site.
Marshall Security director, Tyron Powell said the operation aimed to combat crime levels in the area.
“It was a proactive clean up operation for crime prevention reasons in the area,” he said.
https://www.facebook.com/marshallsec/videos/594322941455824
Marshall security shared this video from the operation.
Spokesperson for the UPCPF, Brian Daish said the area is a nature conservancy.
“It was a necessary operation, we can’t allow people to live there as it’s a nature conservancy. Some of the people living there had chosen to leave the Moses Mabhida Stadium shelter. They were living in very unsanitary conditions,” he said.
Greenwood Park SAPS did not send their comment at the time this article was published.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
You can also sign up for news alerts on Telegram. Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5532.
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.