After nearly five years the “House of Horrors” in Mitchells Plain is set to be demolished amid mounting pressure from residents who have threatened to sue the City of Cape Town over the problematic property.
Gatvol homeowners in Eastridge gathered outside the derelict house in Elephant Street last week demanding the municipality finally take action after the building was being stripped by tikkoppe.
In 2019 residents called police for tenant Magadien Abrahams, 59, who started stripping the house and selling items like windows, pipes and electrical parts, allegedly to feed his drug habit.
Abrahams denied this, claiming he was an artisan and was carrying out renovations to the semi-detached house.
Neighbour Faldielah Asher, 60, says just before the lockdown last year, Abrahams vacated the property.
“My house is attached to this house and after he left the tikkoppe moved in and started stripping the house further.
“There aren’t even walls anymore and the huge concrete blocks are just hanging.”
The furious ouma says her family cannot sleep as drug addicts make fires at night and the smoke enters through the joint roof into her home.
“I can’t even sleep and the smell of the fires as they burn copper in that place is horrible. I am going to sue the City if my house collapses.”
Mayco member for Human Settlements, Malusi Booi, says they are aware of the situation.
“Demolition of the dwelling was approved and will take place in due course,” he says.
Asher says she is happy about the demolition but wants to know when exactly it will take place, while residents said they will petition the City to hand over an empty container on the site to them to run their weekly soup kitchen.