Adventurer in hot water over hut
INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED mountaineer Sean Wisedale has angered his Umdloti neighbours, after he allegedly dragged a security guard’s wooden hut with his car, ripping it from its base.
“He was filmed in an altercation with a security guard, who has been employed by the UIP (Urban Improvement Precinct) to help protect the community in Umdloti,” said Jacquie Herbst, an Umdloti Community Policing Forum (CPF) member.
Following a series of armed home invasions, a monitoring point was set up to report suspicious vehicles being used in robberies, Herbst said.
After intimidating the security guard, Wisedale was seen driving his vehicle on to the pavement and dragging the security hut down the road behind his silver Toyota Landcruiser, she said. He returned to the scene a few days later and allegedly threatened the security guards.
“His actions have enraged a small, tight-knit community, which has been fighting to reduce escalating crime,” Herbst said.
“Over the last two years, security measures implemented by the UIP, CPF and Durban North SAPS have reduced crime by almost 80%, with many local residents working with Come on my Darling at Durban University of Technology’s ML Sultan campus. police to ensure Umdloti remains a safe community to be able to raise their children,” she said.
Wisedale, a motivational speaker and film-maker, made a name for himself as the first African to climb the highest mountain in each continent in 2004. He has been charged with malicious damage to property.
Speaking to the Sunday Tribune on Thursday, Wisedale said he had made attempts to engage with those responsible for the hut which he said was an illegal structure, because there had been no public consultation, but he was ignored.
“I placed a note on the hut, indicating the law on guard huts and temporary barriers. It was ignored. Temporary traffic barriers were still being placed on the road illegally. I had to stop unnecessarily, so I did what was necessary to prevent it happening again,” he said.
He said he did not understand how the guards stationed at the hut were preventing crime in the area, as they were not armed. He denied intimidating the guards and said he had written to the UIP management, requesting a meeting to discuss the way forward.
“I don’t want to be at war with anyone. We all want to live in a safe and secure area, so we have to talk to see how we can achieve that,” he said.
On the perception of some of his neighbours, who took to social media to accuse him of having anger management issues, Wisedale said: “I am a gentleman until provoked.”
Manager of the Umdloti UIP, Terryann Rens, denied the allegation that there was no public consultation on issues of security in the area.
“We engage the community in all our decisions and have public meetings. Mr Wisedale never made any attempts to contact the UIP after the checkpoint was set up and now he says he put a letter on the hut,” she said.