For the past three years, residents living near Braamfontein Spruit, in Bryanston have been complaining about the misuse of the river. The residents have complained to the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) about people gathering at the river to conduct church services and rituals.
According to Dillon Rothman, a resident at Bryanston, the gatherings include liquor sharing, breaking bottles on rocks in rivers, public nudity, defecation, animal blessings, and animals being sacrificed to mention a few.
Rothman said there is the constant presence of noise, litter, and overall destruction of the parking area by gatherings.
“We have a group of [informal settlers] located on the rocks in front of 28 and 30 Brooke Avenue opposite the Scout Hall, on River Road. JMPD’s single raid over the last three years has made absolutely no change to these squatters even growing in size,” said Rothman.
According to JMPD spokesperson, Xolani Fihla, the JMPD is aware of illegal churches in the region and a joint venture with SAPS, Environmental Health Department, Land Use Management, CRUM, and City Parks-they are attending to this matter.
Fihla said the JMPD will normally attend to the matter by chasing them away, but it is not a long-lasting solution, because they keep on returning. Last year there was a meeting arranged by the Environmental Health Department (Pollution Unit) with the pastors of these churches in trying to meet them halfway, but it seems there were no good results achieved, he added.
“In field and study currently, there is a process being taken by the city involving the council’s lawyers in trying to address displaced people in the area,” concluded Fihla.
“The residents reached out to me in mid-2022 with regards to the issue of noise coming from the river. I reached out to the environmental health department and it was hard for them to be at the river all the time, trying to chase away the squatters and churchgoers.,” said Lynda Shackleford, Ward 103 councillor.
According to Shackleford, after the residents brought back the issue of the noise coming from the river to her at the beginning of 2023, she then organised a meeting with the community to meet up by the river and discuss the issue. She requested that the residents who are facing the issue of noise, write their details down and a that a letter be drafted about the issue and forwarded to the MMC.
“My issue with regards to the church people who use the spruit is that last year there was an incident where 15 worshippers lost their lives because of floods. It is also not appropriate to be slaughtering animals or being naked near the river because there is a park area nearby,” added Shackleford.
According to Shackleford, with regards to the squatters, she normally holds an operation once a month to remove squatters along the river, following correct rules and regulations.
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