POLOKWANE – According to one of the business owners in Johnson Street, Jo-Anne Honiball, many homeless people sleep outside the business, making a mess of the premises as they dump their refuse wherever they like or they urinate against the businesses’ walls.
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These homeless people often get into physical altercations and Honiball said one of the recent altercations turned extremely violent and one of the people involved was seriously injured.
“The fight happened across the street from my business. This was the second fight in which someone was seriously injured in so many years. Even though it did not happen right in front of our business, it still affects the business as our clients feel intimidated by these loiterers.
“There is a specific guy who is always starting trouble and he is involved in the majority of disruptions and fights here,” she said.
Honiball said she heard a commotion outside the shop on Wednesday, 14 April at around 16:00.
“I went outside to see what was going on and saw two men, one of them the usual troublemaker, severely beating up another man. I was shocked by their aggression and soon realised they were intent on causing severe harm, maybe even killing, the victim.
“One of the assailants hit the victim over the head with a beer bottle, causing a deep gash to his head.
“I ran across the street to intervene and break up the fight as I was scared they would kill the man.”
She said even though she realised the danger of intervening, she just couldn’t stand by and let someone be killed.
“The troublemakers begin drinking early in the morning and by afternoon they are visibly drunk which is when the fights break out.
“I plead with police or the municipality to do something about this situation as we feel unsafe and intimidated. It is negatively affecting our businesses.”
A resident, Sefefe Sebone, said he is too scared to visit the shopping centre since he saw the fight.
“I regularly used to buy takeaways from shops there but now I am cautious to go there again. I saw the whole fight and couldn’t believe the aggression the attackers showed.
“These homeless people who sleep at the centre are becoming a nuisance as they drink in public and become violent. They intimidate and harrass us as customers, urinating in public and passing out on the sidewalks,” Sebone said.
Provincial Police Spokesperson, Capt Mamphaswa Seabi, said the police have no record of the incident in question. He added, however, such intimidating and violent behaviour will not be tolerated and he urged the public to report such matters to the police immediately.
“It is of extreme importance that the public report such matters to the police as it helps us to profile the suspects and identify crime hotspots in the city. Report crimes or information to the Crime Stop number 08600 10111, the Crime Line SMS 32211 or your nearest police station,” Seabi concluded.
