HEALED, THE TRADITIONAL WAY

Doctor Mugaga, a traditional healer, with his bones and muti.

HOPE MOTAU

Many traditional healers see Mabopane station as a good place to do business.

Among the traditional healers who practice their rituals and have a surgery, is Doctor Mugaga. He has twelve years experience, but started to work at Mabopane station eight years ago.

Mugaga, who is originally from Uganda said that he treats people who have body pains, sickness, sexual problems, spiritual problems, and helps those who are unable to have children.  He works with other traditional healers and refers some of his patients, whom he is unable to treat, to his colleagues.

 “I do not treat babies, because I do not have knowledge about children’s diseases,” said Mugaga. Mugaga also said: “Some people want promotion at work, but they do not have qualification, so it is not easy for us to help them because that is where their problem lies.  If you have qualifications and do not get promotions after working for many years, it means you have spiritual problems and that is where we intervene.”

There are many traditional doctors working and opening surgeries at Mabopane station and it seems that all of them are making a living from their businesses.

Doctor Mugaga said he is at the station in order to treat people who were sick, not for making money. He said that he rents a room at Block AA but he cannot bring his patients there, because he does not own the premises.

Nobuhle Dlamini from Soshanguve Block GG told Record that she believes more in traditional healers than medical doctors.  She said she was sick a very long time and she was healed by one of the traditional healers at Mabopane station. “I had something living inside my stomach for about a year, which was taken out by a traditional healer. He said it was a snake that tried to block my pregnancy,” said Dlamini.

David Sebotsa of Mabopane Block C said that the traditional healers were very significant on his life and the public must treat them with respect.  “Our fore fathers were only relying on traditional healers before medical doctors came to Africa. There are also some diseases and problems, which medical doctors cannot treat, such as the ‘Tokoloshi’,” said Sebotsa.

Mugaga said ‘Tokoloshi’ could be caused by the wrongful mixture of bloody muti and the trees that are forbidden or by people who are jealous of others. He explained that traditional muti are just like chemicals where the wrongful mixture of chemicals can cause a bad thing.

“The challenges we are facing are people who want us to give them muti to kill others. But as traditional doctors, we are professional and have the ethics.

I cannot give someone muti to kill others, because our main aim is to help people to live, and killing is against our ancestors.” said Mugaga.

RESIDENTS PROTEST FOR JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND BETTER SERVICE



Residents closed the roads with burning tyres demanding for better service and jobs at Bock AA, BB and F-West in Soshanguve.



 HOPE MOTAU, PATRIC MOTHAPOAND LILLIAN MSIBI

Soshanguve Blocks AA, BB and F-West were covered by the dark clouds of smoke from burning tyres.

People from all walks of life participated in community mass protest. Residents accused the municipality and ward 29 councillor for not listening to their need.

Among the concerns were tar roads at Block BB, a decent park at Block AA as well as a soccer ground, accusing the councillor of nepotism and not employing youth within the Blocks for the project that are taking place in the community.

The police tried to disperse the protesters by shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, but the protesters continued burning tyres.  "I am here because we need better services delivery. Block BB was started in 1986 but we still do not have tar roads. We also need solar geysers and we have been waiting for so long," said Peter Mhlongo from Block BB.



The lady with red T-shirt was running away from the police who were shooting rubber bullets.

 Some of the residents were injured by the police rubber bullets, but they came back to continue protesting, burning tyres and chanting.

Police spokesperson, warrant officer Lolo Mangena of Rietgat police station said "We deployed our officers here to get this demonstration under control because we do not want any damage to property."

WARRANT OFFICER LOLO MANGENA : RIETGAT POLICE STATION

SOUND CLIP OF SOSHANGUVE RESIDENT

Soshanguve Plaza was closed by the protesters during the protest hours and no one was allowed to enter. All schools within the community were closed due to the protest. The school pupils were also taking part in the protest. Tumelo Phalane (18) from Kgomotso Comprehensive High says, "As a Grade 12 pupil my opinion is that the strike should not involve learners, because we would be left behind at school. Let them allow us to go to catch-up because there is teacher's go slow currently, so we need to catch-up before teachers go for strike in one to two weeks time".

 Sphiwe Mhlongo (18) and Anikie Chauke (17) the matric pupils at Soshanguve High from Block BB are worried that they should not go to school due to community mass protest. They say that this might affect their matric results at the end of the year.

"We will also find out why the police used rubber bullets. But if the situation was bad, there was no other way the police could control crowd. We want to protect innocent people and property. We deployed police officers who deal with public violence and other officers from the local police station." said Mangena. Six men and a woman were arrested for public violence and released later on Friday.

NEW SQUATTER CAMP AT MABOPANE

Semonyo family ouside their new home at Itsoseng

HOPE MOTAU

Mochacho Semonyo, his wife Elizabeth and their two children are happy to find a new home. Semonyo said that they were staying at Soshanguve block TT, but struggling to find their own home. The squatter camp has no neither electricity nor sanitation. “What we need in terms of basic services are toilets, because there is already water infrastructure which was implemented when people were staying here.

So we just need to connect our own water pipes to bring water to our yards. Currently we do not have toilets, people help themselves at the bush or use buckets at their houses and later throw at the bush” said Semonyo. He further said that there are rumours of the electricity implementation if they could fill that open space.

Residents, who have been staying at Itsoseng for a decade, were moved to the other part of the community in 2011 for them to be installed electricity.  They were asked to move so that they could fill the particular space, because they were staying far from one another where it was difficult for Eskom to implement its electrical infrastructure. They got the new yards for free together with water and electricity, however majority are still staying in the shacks.



Men are digging a stand pole of a new home.

 

Now people invaded of which is privately owned and they were threatened to be forced removed during the week, until community held a meeting on Saturday to call upon everyone who need the space to come through. They said that they would not move because their parents used to stay at the place for a decade in the past two years.

Victor Mhlongo who needs a space for himself said: “Our parents were convinced to move to the other side of Itsoseng to get electricity which is already implemented by now. As their children, we did not get our own place that is why we came back to our mother’s land, because I am old enough to stay with parents.”



Men building a shack for Geraldine Ndhlovu



Geraldine Ndhlovu is helping men who build her a new home

Geraldine Ndhlovu from Soshanguve Block LKK, who is studying Education at Tshwane University of Technology, also got her own place. She said that she is satisfied and wanted to be independent when she finishes her studies at the end of the year. “What we really need now is electricity and water because we go to fetch water from three families who were isolated when they did not want to move. Then I will dig my own toilet at the yard.”



Geraldine Ndhlovu is helping men who build her a new home

People from Soshanguve, Mabopane and surroundings are flocking to the open area to get their own apace and the community is expecting more to come.

"WHERE IS MY RDP HOUSE?" ASKS RESIDENT.

Richard Mdluli, Dorothy Maleka and their family outside their nine year old shack.

HOPE MOTAU

A family of six from Mabopane Block V have been staying in a single shack for about a decade. The family consisting of two parents, three children and a grandchild have been staying in the shack since 2004 and they said that they have applied for an RDP house in 2005 together with residents who now have houses.

 Residents in the area have received their RDP houses but the Mdluli family has to date not received their RDP house.  Father of the family Richard Mdluli, feels that democracy and freedom are meaningless to his family since they have not received the fruits of democracy.

"I did not even bother to celebrate Freedom Day, because I have no logical reason to celebrate since my life has not been changed by democracy," he said.

Mdluli, who is employed at a local butchery, said that his salary was not enough to afford a house. "The money I receive is for looking after my family," said Mdluli.  The family depends on social grants as an extra source of money that they use to support their children.

The unemployed mother of the family, Dorothy Maleka, told Record having a house would change their lives as they have endured sleeping uncomfortably for quite some time. "What I really need in my life is a RDP house, because we cannot afford to live in this situation. It is really difficult for us to stay in a single shack, especially when it is time to sleep," said Maleka.

The Mdluli family outside their only house at Block V, known as Odi, Mabopane.

The family described their situation as tragic and one that cannot be tolerated. They said that their shack does not have enough room for a family of six members.  The emotional and disappointed Maleka said that she wondered if she would have a RDP house, after waiting for so many years.

The Tshwane Metro Housing Department said that they have no knowledge of the family, and the RDP houses that were allocated and built at Block V, were equivalent to the number of the shacks built in the area.  According to Tshwane Metro’s Housing Department there was no application file for RDP Houses under the family’s nameon their system.

Record's interaction with the ward 22 councillor, Kefilwe Motsepe, was unsuccessful because she did not give Record a chance to talk to her. Motsepe ended-up hanging Record’s calls to avoid further questioning about the family’s situation. The shack has prepaid electricity that was installed before the RDP houses were built, but among the family’s concerns were the water and sanitation infrastructure.

 “We do not have water and sanitation and we depend on asking for water from our neighbour, who has been helpful to us. We also dug a toilet in our yard,” said Maleka. Mdluli and Maleka said that they did not apply for water, since they did not have money to pay the said amount. Odi Water Service said that the family needs to pay R2000 for a water installation.

LOAN SHARKS TARGET PENSIONERS


 

Soshanguve residents hoping to get a loan outside the telephone container.

HOPE MOTAU

A group of women who receive social grants, gathered outside the telephone container last week at Soshanguve Block H, in the hope of obtaining a loans.

The elders and women receiving child support grants went to the loan sharks that started operating in December 2012. They only give loans to social grant beneficiaries, depending on how much money they receive from South African Social Security Agency.  After giving the loan, the service provider will later withdraw money with interest directly from their social grants on a monthly basis depending on how much the client loaned.

The police have closed the business last week as they say that it was illegal and was not registered with the National Credit Regulator. The unnamed service provider, who was working at a telephone container in Block H, closed their doors for a short period and later re-opened after the police left.



Women of different ages gathered outside the telephone container at Block H, Soshanguve.

Mpho Mabela, a loan seeker told Record that the two employees working at the container told the clients that the police wanted a bribe from them to operate. Mabela said that they were told that the business was legal and amalgamated with Sassa.

 "Their interest rate is affordable and they do not withdraw the money we loaned at the same time like informal cash loaners. They withdraw a little amount every month until our credit is settled," said Mabela. Paulinah Chabalala, who was in need of loan said: "The police must leave the service provider alone because it is better than other “Mashonisa`s” (township moneylender) around Soshanguve. They do not keep our social grant cards and ID books," said Chabalala.

According to Chabalala they will continue to use the service provider regardless of whether they were illegal or not. When Record arrived, the two employees failed to produce the formal certificate from National Credit Regulator and later denied to talk after Record questioned them.

The clients never enquire about the NCR certificate, since they get the money they want.Captain Marinde of the Soshanguve police station said: “That cash loan business is illegal and under investigation. That is why the police closed it on the day.”

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