Joseph Sibisi, who lives in the CBD near Vryheid’s District Hospital, fears he might lose his life sooner rather than later.
Sibisi, who lives with a disability of being short-sighted and paralysed, says his house has been broken into about eight times and the thieves have vandalised his home, taking out windows and doors. Sibisi lives off his pension with his son who’s in high school, leaving him alone most of the time. This creates fear and uncertainty for the father. “We have stayed in this house since 2011 and we have never had peace. The ‘amaphara’ (thieves) come here at any time they like, they break in, take our items and food forcefully, and at one point they even beat me up because I refused to let them come in. They arrive in groups and they know almost every house in this area, so I am not the only one they target. I bought this house after I was staying in Bhekuzulu because I wanted peace and a place I could call home, but there is nothing nice about staying here. It’s a nice place, but it’s a playground for amaphara.”
Sibisi says they have alerted the police about this unfortunate state of affairs, but nothing is being done about it. “Many times, the people from this area would call police officers. They come and take statements, but nothing further is done about the break-ins and vandalism, and our stolen items never get back to us. The police know very well about our living situation here; they once told us we need to fence our houses and we did that, but these people simply jump over the fence or wall, take clothes from the washing line, and go as far as killing our dogs because they bark at them, which is a way of alerting us whenever the thieves are around. Even if you are thinking of moving to another place, no one will buy a house in a crime hot-spot, because people are aware now. We would like the local SAPS and security companies to start making patrols in this area. We need anyone who can assist to make this area a crime-free zone. Help before we die!”
Sibisi thanks the Ward 8 councillor for taking time to hear his story. “Elaine Rodway came to see me, which is something I really appreciate, because I did not know who to talk to. She helped me with new windows after the ones I bought were taken out and vandalised. One cannot even leave one’s house for an hour because you get worried what will happen while you are gone. We desperately need help!”
Cllr Rodway said the following, “The opportunistic attacks on the home of Mr Sibisi, an elderly and disabled member of our community, are a disturbing indication of the ruthless and uncaring nature of the criminal element that is seeping into our society.
“Hearing Mr Sibisi describe his ordeal at the hands of these heartless criminals was truly disturbing. It’s unfathomable to me that the elderly, disabled and most vulnerable of our community should be treated with anything but care and compassion. Instead, they are being targeted and victimised by criminals. It’s unacceptable and we cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour. We must protect the most vulnerable of our community from these opportunistic attacks by those who actually contribute nothing of value to our community.
“On the topic of compassion and those who do add value to our community, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Jan-Daniel Kruger and his PG Glass team for treating Mr Sibisi with kindness and compassion and repairing the damages to his home as a community service project.”
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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.
