A Kraaifontein woman who was visiting her family says her home was stolen while she was away.
Asiphe Budaza, 25, says she went to the Eastern Cape in March and came home to find her shack in Covid informal settlement, Bloekombos, and all her belongings gone.
She suspects the theft happened over a number of days.
“I asked my boyfriend to check the place, and he did and said the heater and stove were stolen,“ she says.
“He left and then went back another time and found that the door was open. He locked up and went to Delft.
“I came back yesterday from the Eastern Cape.”
Asiphe says she didn’t have a cellphone while she was away: “I got a new phone and called my neighbour and she informed me that I no longer have a home,” she says.
“I couldn’t understand until she sent me pictures of the hokkie while it was being dismantled.
“At the time, the roof and three walls were gone, only one side, the front was there and then she showed me later what was left, which was the cement floor.”
A community member who refused to be named says he first noticed the roof and the door were taken and then, piece by piece, the thieves stole the hokkie.
“I was quite shocked and I alerted other people to this.
“I didn’t sleep in my hokkie every day but after this incident, I decided to spend most of my time at home because I don’t want to lose my home in that way.”
When the Daily Voice visited Asiphe, she was going through a blue municipal bag which had a few of her things in it.
“They left me with a pair of pink fluffy morning slippers and my boyfriend’s jeans.
“All my furniture and clothes have been taken, including two beds and cupboards.”
The angry woman says she has lived in the area for eight months but has decided to leave: “This place is not safe, if they can steal a hokkie what would they do to me?”