Health concerns at ‘house of horror’
The state of the house and the living conditions are such that residents in the area fear that the leaking sewage, the general filth on the property and the run-down state of the buildings will impact on the immediate are
Fears are mounting that a potentially health-threatening situation is brewing on a run-down property on McKenzie Street. Sewage from a blocked drain is spewing on to the grass from a house adjacent to what was the Wesleyan Church. Litter and soiled nappies are strewn about the property – much to the concern of nearby residents.
The house is home to seven people – at least three are physically or psychologically disabled. The Harris family has been living in the house for the past 18 months after their plight – when they were staying in a farmhouse near Kingsley – was highlighted in the Courier. Family patriarch, Brian, recently passed away. The family continues to survive off government disability grants.
However, the state of the house and the living conditions are such that residents in the area fear that the leaking sewage, the general filth on the property and the run-down state of the buildings will impact on the immediate area. Members of the family told the Courier that the person responsible for the property – who they are unable to name – is in Durban and ‘hardly ever visits’. The sewage has been leaking from a blocked drain ‘for months’, it was said. When asked why family members had not attempted to clean up the waste themselves, the reply was, “We do not have a spade.”
A resident of the area, who alerted the Courier to the state of the house, said she feared a diphtheria outbreak.
Diphtheria is a serious disease caused by a toxin – a form of bacteria – that usually emanates from human or animal waste. It causes a thick coating in the back of the nose or throat, which makes it hard to breathe or swallow. It can be deadly, and spreads rapidly among children. Ironically, an historic Anglo Boer War graveyard – highlighted in a recent Courier – is only metres from the house. The graveyard is the only Anglo Boer War cemetery in the country where Boers and British soldiers are buried together.
The church itself dates back to the 1880’s, but is also in a state of disrepair.
