Vryheid councillor shocks everyone when she welcomes squatter into her home

HEARING that Cllr Alta de Kock had taken a squatter under her wing, sent a ripple of disbelief and mutual concern through the minds of friends and family, and left most residents pondering over her sanity.

In the days that followed, some asked, “Is she crazy?” Others remarked, “This country is so dangerous… There is so much crime… You can’t trust anyone… I could never do that.”

So we asked her, quite frankly, the question that was on all your minds, “What were you thinking?”

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Adopting a firm resolve and a no-nonsense attitude, Cllr Alta de Kock, embarked on a mission to rid the open field along Klip Street of illegal squatters last Wednesday morning.

The residents in the area had complained to the police, municipality and the media about the escalation, since the squatters had taken residence in the field, and Alta had set off to ensure that they were removed and sent back to their homes.

Police, public safety officials and members of Buurtwag accompanied her. Each of the squatters was given an opportunity to pack the belongings they wished to take with them, and they were offered a lift, or money for a taxi, so that they could return to their homes. The makeshift dwellings that the squatters had erected were destroyed to deter them from returning.

While the squatters were busy packing their belongings, Alta and her companions noticed a polite, neatly dressed, young man helping everyone.

“I asked the police who he was, and they said they assumed that he was with me because he had been so helpful. As we were loading everyone onto the truck and figuring out where they needed to be taken to, I found out that Thembelane Mhlongo (known as Five Rand) didn’t have anywhere to go.

“His father had died while he was in Grade 10 and his mother passed away the next year. After losing both parents, he also lost his home.

“The police asked him a few questions. One of them was where he saw himself in five years and his answer made me laugh. He said they definitely wouldn’t find him on Klip Street because he now knew that he shouldn’t be there. After they questioned him, I asked Five Rand if he wanted to come home with me, and he did.”

The next day, Alta took Five Rand back to the school he had been attending to try and enroll him to finish matric, but the school would not accept him as he had already turned 21. She assisted him at Home Affairs to apply for an ID, arranged part-time work and provided the ‘luxuries’ he never thought he would have in this lifetime, a warm bed, three meals a day, a hot shower and a flushing toilet.

“I offered him a place to stay in my outbuilding in return for maintaining my garden once a week. I also arranged for him to work as a gardener at a wedding venue two days a week so that he may have some income. He will pay a small amount from his wage to my housekeeper for his meals and the rest of his wages he can use to uplift himself. In essence, I am just helping him help himself,” explained Alta.

She continued, “I trust my gut and I believe that the Lord opens my eyes in specific cases. Even if Five Rand proves me wrong, at least I know I gave him an opportunity. I feel strongly about helping others because I have always had people to help me. Every time I have had a problem, I have had a guardian angel to help me. And anyway, isn’t that what we are here for… To help others make a better life. Yes, there are some poor people who just sit back and take handouts, but there are others who just need a chance. They just need to find their footing. They just need somebody to give them an opportunity.”

“Five Rand is a vreeslike nice kind,” she concluded.

Had Alta adopted the same outlook as her critics, Thembelane Mhlongo may have been condemned to a life of poverty, hopelessness and futility. He admits that he had already accepted that he may be homeless for the rest of his life.

“I had given up on life and accepted being homeless,” he said. “Since I met Alta, I have hope again. For the first time in my life, I am looking forward to the future and I can see the possibility of progressing as a person. I hope God takes care of Alta, the way she takes care of others.”

Five Rand said he had been a squatter in the field along Klip Street for five years.

“It wasn’t nice. The living conditions are terrible and there is a lot of crime. It wasn’t safe but I had no choice.”

Asked how he got the name Five Rand, he explained, “When I was at school and my parents were alive, my father had a job at Transnet and he sometimes gave me pocket money. If my friends asked, I would give them R5 from my pocket money and that’s how I got the name.”