Two years on and cops have not fixed house they ruined
Every day a Mqanduli youth looks at the ruins of his late grandmother ’ s house. Sections of the home were not destroyed by a natural disaster or violent weather, but a police van.
Two years on, the rubble is a painful reminder of the incident. But the Masende family has grown tired of waiting. The time has come for police to rebuild the house, they say.
Khangelwa Masende, 24, of Cawa village in Mqanduli, said her grandmother died “crying for her house”. The RDP house was handed over to 80-year-old Noganyile Masende in 2013.
“It was government people who built and destroyed it. We want the police to rebuild it. We can’t use the remaining rooms because they have cracks all over,” Masende said.
“She was happy when she received this house but the accident took its toll on her health.”
Masende lodged a complaint against the two allegedly offending officers, who were stationed at Kwaaiman police station, she said.
“I have been going back and forth since then. Those officers never set foot here again. They did not even apologise after I helped them out of the damaged car. They were crying and begging for help, but now it’s like nothing happened,” she said.
Masende said she was in one of the rondavels on the property when the police van crashed into the main house at about 6am on that fateful morning in June 2018.
“There was no one in the house that day, fortunately. The bakkie would have caused much more damage had it not been for a steep platform [surrounding the house] that caused it to come to a stop.
“One time, when I went to the police station, they said I should count the loss in damages, but they did nothing. On some of the occasions that I have been, the police officers said my case was not like a rape or murder and it would take time.”
But two years is long enough, according to Masende.
“I want them to replace our furniture that was damaged. There was a three-piece cupboard, TV, wall unit and sofas, among other things. It’s a huge loss. I can’t buy or rebuild on my own as I am not working.
“I am disappointed in the officers because they are still here and pass by here like they did not cause the damage. They are not even remorseful. I have been lied to for two years now. I am tired of the empty promises.”
Local headman John Sitsixo said he was saddened by the Masende family’s plight.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Ndileka Cola said the matter fell outside the directorate’s mandate. Ipid investigates incidents where police are involved.