Disabled parking dispute

Gauteng resident Nancy Turner and her family were at Gateway during their annual holiday at the coast. Turner’s daughter recently had a serious knee operation and has been confined to using a wheelchair and more recently, crutches. A disabled parking sticker is displayed on their car.

Last Thursday, Turner said that she parked in a disabled parking space near the Virgin Active at  Gateway. When she returned with her two children, she found a Mercedes Benz Vito bus blocking her from entering her vehicle. One of her tyres was also flat.

“The vehicle had ‘Church on Wheels – Pastor Janni Roux’ written on it,” said Turner.
Gateway’s public relations manager, Sane Ndlovu, confirmed that their security responded to Nancy’s complaint and put a wheel clamp on the Vito.

Turner said that Roux arrived on the scene a while later with two other people. She said that one of the people with Roux took a pair of bolt cutters from the Vito and removed the wheel clamp. Roux and his passengers then drove off.
This was confirmed by Ndlovu.

Turner was left to deal with her flat tyre. She called the AA and her husband to assist her.
“We drove straight to the tyre repair centre, who on inspection of our flat wheel told us that the wheel was absolutely fine but someone had released or loosened the valve, hence the reason we had a flat wheel.”

However Roux, who is himself in a wheelchair, denied that the Turner’s car was displaying a disabled sticker.
Roux said: “When we arrived at Gateway, Nancy’s vehicle had no sticker on the windscreen. My staff checked and could not find any disability stickers.”

“When we arrived back we enquired what was wrong and she told us about the flat tyre. There is no evidence who did it,” the Pastor said.
Gateway’s Ndlovu said that Roux would be liable for a fine for removing the wheel clamp.

Recently Roux was arrested following a domestic dispute in Seaward estate and for possession of an unlicenced firearm.
The charges were later withdrawn.