Neighbours complain about havoc caused by funeralgoers
"We always encourage citizens to accommodate one another and promote coexistence in the neighbourhood to lessen the impact of such an event."
MBOMBELA – The funeral of a local businessman, Nathi Sambo, caused havoc in Juanita Street’s park this weekend.
He had lived opposite the park. Residents complained that people were drinking in public, making excessive noise and blocking the roads since Friday. City of Mbombela Local Municipality spokesman, Joseph Ngala, said they had not granted permission for the use of the park.
“By-law enforcement notified people to lessen the noise and they ensured that neighbours still had access to their homes and other motorists were not impeded.”
Lukas Keulder, who lives nearby, disagreed.
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“They took over the whole park to such an extent that you were not even able to drive past there. Saturday was the worst. They made a huge noise and did not respect the neighbours or the environment.”
Another resident, who did not want his name mentioned out of fear of victimisation, agreed.
“We tried to phone both the police and the municipality, but got no response.”
The party continued until the late hours of Sunday. Cars were partially blocking the street and people could be seen drinking in the park. Early on Monday it was covered with litter, empty and full bottles of alcohol and partially eaten meals.
The park was, however, cleaned during the day. According to Ngala, municipal employees did so.
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Provincial police spokesman, Brig Leonard Hlathi, said they only received a noise complaint on Friday. “The police shut the party down on Friday, but we did not receive any complaints since.” He added that they also did not receive complaints of public drinking.
“We respect when people have a funeral, but we will respond if there is a criminal element,”
Hlathi said. Jealous Nyalunga, the person who claimed to arrange the funeral, said he was not aware of what was happening in the park.
“The funeral service took place at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre on the R40. I only saw a few people eating and parking their cars there after the funeral.”
Ngala added that both the neighbours and the deceased’s family had to be considerate of one another. “We always encourage citizens to accommodate one another and promote coexistence in the neighbourhood to lessen the impact of such an event.”
