VIP toilet destitute East London man’s only shelter from rain and cold

An East London man who has fallen on hard times has turned a toilet into a home to shelter him during cold and rainy days.

Bongani Mcontsi of Fort Grey stays alone on a plot almost 2ha in size. On warm days, he stays in a makeshift 1m² shack. However, in winter and on rainy days, he moves into his VIP toilet. . 

“I have no family and have no-one to run to for help in East London. I decided to stay on this land and use that toilet as my home when it is raining and in winter. There are things you cannot help if you don’t have a family to run to,” he said.

Mcontsi, 43,  grows spinach, cabbage, onion and sometimes maize in his garden. “I then share the vegetables with the community. They are like my family because if I have nothing at all, they help me with a plate of food, even if it’s leftovers,” he said.

However, he does not have much left in his garden. Since the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown was enforced four weeks ago, he has not been able to get money for seedlings. He usually does piece jobs or collects items for recycling, but he has been confined to his plot since March 27.

When the DispatchLIVE visited Mcontsi, he was sitting next to a bonfire, cooking a meal of dry maize porridge mixed with cooking oil.

He explains that he normally has vegetables to make healthy meals.

“Because of the Covid-19 I cannot go out to ask for money to buy seedlings to plant here. The life is difficult and I will take anything people give me.”

Mcontsi is originally from Wesley location in Peddie. He moved to East London 22 years ago in search of work.

“East London was the next place to look for greener pastures from my rural location in Peddie but despite having my matric, I did not get any work. I resorted to doing piece jobs and recycling.”

Mcontsi said he does not earn much with recycling “but it is better than doing nothing”.

“It takes me two weeks to collect for a big bag and when I sell that, I get less than R100 into my pocket.”

Community leader Nombuyiselo Kondile of Hlangula Abantu Bam, a non-profit organisation in Fort Grey, said Mcontsi was one of many desperate cases in the community.

Kondile said Mcontsi  was the only one who had converted a toilet into a house.

“It is shocking to see what poor people will do to have a roof over their heads. He has a small shack the size of a dog kennel and when it is raining, he takes refuge in a toilet. That’s painful. If people can help him, maybe build him a proper shack or a house, that would be appreciated,” said Kondile.

Mcontsi, who doesn’t even have an identity document, said because his clothes were dirty, people assumed he was mentally challenged.

“I am not. I am just one of many poor people who have fallen into the cracks of poverty in SA.”