Mechanic stripped of his workshop and livelihood
Looters steal man’s equipment and destroy premises
It is a cold, windy Saturday morning as mechanic Benson Nkuna walks through the debris of what used to be his car repair workshop in Johannesburg, six days after it was looted and set alight amid the violent protests against the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma.
Nkuna, 38, of Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, who owns Shefresh General Trading (Pty) Ltd in City & Suburban, said he is going to need equipment worth more than R200,000 to repair his workplace and open for business again after it was broken into on the evening of July 11.
“The equipment of the workshop will cost R201,850 and I don’t know where and how I will start my operation again. I literally have nothing. All my equipment is gone.
“I don’t have a toolbox or even a spanner. Right now it is difficult to even think about cleaning and rebuilding the place after what happened here. It is emotional for me,” said Nkuna.
He will need equipment ranging from a heavy duty trolley jack, a hydraulic foldable crane, a foot operated grease pump, a valve spring compressor kit, an auto welding helmet and a test light kit, among other things.
The father of five said 11 cars that were brought in for repairs by customers were torched during the looting. The cars were a Range Rover, Chevrolet Spark, Toyota RunX, GTI Golf 5, Honda Civic, Yaris, Fiat Punto, BMW E36 323i, Nissan NP 200, Ford Focus and a Renault Scenic.
The equipment stolen include launch diagnostic machines, three workshop cross wheel spanners, a main tool box, vacuum cleaner, Samsung printer and a bolts and parts cabinet.
Nkuna said he was at home when he got a call from his landlord that his workshop was on fire. But the N1 was closed and he only arrived at the scene the next day.
“Yoh, when I got there I didn’t know what to do. I was worried about the owners of the cars that got damaged. I was asking myself what will I say to them. It was chaotic on that day as people were still coming in and out of my workshop helping themselves to the goods inside.
“I even tried to stop some of the looters from entering my workshop but they insulted me and overpowered me. I couldn’t do anything. I just stood there and watched helplessly,” said Nkuna.
Born and bred in Giyani, Limpopo, Nkuna said he learned how to fix cars at the age of 11 from his father. He started fixing cars in 2006 when he was working at the Faraday Taxi Rank in Wemmer, Johannesburg.
He was fixing taxis and would make between R3,000 and R4,000 daily.
He worked at the taxi rank until February 2018. Nkuna then moved to the Joburg CBD where he managed to start his own
enterprise in May of the same year. He used savings from his previous job to buy equipment and pay rent for his new workplace.
He had two employees, an assistant mechanic and a cleaner. His rent was R10,000 a month. “My workshop has a small space and it can take up to 11 cars. In a day I would get seven clients and make between R10,000 and R15,000 a week,” he said.