SECOND Creek residents have called on Buffalo City Metro to evict “illegal” residents living at the Second Creek dumpsite after a 13-year- old girl’s body was found this week.
Community members said the dumpsite was not secure and had turned into a haven for criminal activities as runaway and troubled teenagers built shelters at the site.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, local Nokwayintombi Kilani said there was no security at the dumpsite and young boys and girls were erecting shacks at the site in which they were living together.
“There are shacks there and from our understanding there should be no shacks or any shelter at that site,” Kilani said.
Families who lived at the site in 2009 were moved to a nearby informal settlement by the department of housing.
Another resident, Phumla Fani, said they had no idea who the people moving in were or where they were coming from.
“We don’t understand how BCM allowed people to live there because these teenagers see that dumpsite as a place to stay and smoke all sorts of drugs,” said Fani.
Community members said they now live in fear after the death of the young girl, who was believed to have been strangled.
When the Dispatch visited the dumpsite yesterday, the entrance gate had been broken and there was a blanket at the scene where the victim was found.
One of the people living at the tip, who gave his name as Jimmy Smith, said he had moved there last year.
“It is not safe here and we are still shocked by the death of that little girl.
“But we make a living from this tip, that is why we are here,” Smith said.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said the metro operated within the legislation and no one was allowed to do as they pleased.
“We will not hesitate to enforce the law where wrongdoing is detected. Communities need to work with police and law enforcement agencies to combat crime ,” Matebese said.
Ward councillor Derek Green said BCM had failed to put measures in place to prevent people from moving onto the site.
Police spokesman Lieutenant- Colonel Mtati Tana said no arrests had been made in the murder of the young girl.
“The victim’s friend was arrested but was later released as there was no evidence linking him to the murder ,” Tana said. —
Residents ask city to evict dump squatters
Community members said the dumpsite was not secure and had turned into a haven for criminal activities as runaway and troubled teenagers built shelters at the site.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, local Nokwayintombi Kilani said there was no security at the dumpsite and young boys and girls were erecting shacks at the site in which they were living together.
“There are shacks there and from our understanding there should be no shacks or any shelter at that site,” Kilani said.
Families who lived at the site in 2009 were moved to a nearby informal settlement by the department of housing.
Another resident, Phumla Fani, said they had no idea who the people moving in were or where they were coming from.
“We don’t understand how BCM allowed people to live there because these teenagers see that dumpsite as a place to stay and smoke all sorts of drugs,” said Fani.
Community members said they now live in fear after the death of the young girl, who was believed to have been strangled.
When the Dispatch visited the dumpsite yesterday, the entrance gate had been broken and there was a blanket at the scene where the victim was found.
One of the people living at the tip, who gave his name as Jimmy Smith, said he had moved there last year.
“It is not safe here and we are still shocked by the death of that little girl.
“But we make a living from this tip, that is why we are here,” Smith said.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said the metro operated within the legislation and no one was allowed to do as they pleased.
“We will not hesitate to enforce the law where wrongdoing is detected. Communities need to work with police and law enforcement agencies to combat crime ,” Matebese said.
Ward councillor Derek Green said BCM had failed to put measures in place to prevent people from moving onto the site.
Police spokesman Lieutenant- Colonel Mtati Tana said no arrests had been made in the murder of the young girl.
“The victim’s friend was arrested but was later released as there was no evidence linking him to the murder ,” Tana said. —
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