The belief that the water rushing through the Manie Mulder Adventure Park is holy has attracted pilgrims wanting to perform religious ceremonies for years. Unfortunately, this holy water has also been the site of 26 drownings in the last five years; five in the last six months.
After some time without incidents, the drownings picked up again in October 2020, and after two bodies were found in less than three weeks, the MMC for Community Development, Margaret Arnolds seemed eager to help. However, up until the latest body recovery on 18 April, the MMC had been silent on measures taken by her department to prevent similar incidences.
Following a case of culpable homicide that was opened against the MMC by Ward 83 councillor, Florence Roberts, and Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) Nico de Jager, Councillor Arnolds has responded on measures taken at Manie Mulder.
Read more on the culpable homicide case here: WATCH: Case of culpable homicide opened against MMC
Arnolds said signs prohibiting swimming, fires and overnight sleeping, as well as indemnity boards had been procured and would be placed before the end of May. These prohibition signs go against recommendations from the ward councillor and conservation groups who feel that instead of stopping the swimming altogether, safety measures should be put in place instead – measures to ensure that pilgrims will still be able to utilise the ‘holy water’ for their ceremonies during the day, and know the exact sections of the water to avoid, therefore preventing drownings and not being denied of their freedom to religious practices.
According to Florence, the only security the reserve currently has is the reserve manager and one patroller. Other patrols are conducted by members of conservation groups and on a voluntary basis by a few Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch (RNW) members. Councillor Arnolds has put the minimal security down to staff shortages, adding that security is placed by JMPD and that her department is working closely with local metro police to ensure that there are two patrollers at all times.
When asked what had been done to prevent further drownings, Arnolds mentioned the fact that Roodepoort Police spokesperson, Captain Juanita Yorke, and RNW chairperson, Andreas Oberlechner, have had conversations with the church groups that utilise the facility. Arnolds added that she believed that most of the work to prevent drownings is reliant on Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM). This is due to the fact that one of the damaged boundary fences, where some of the pilgrims enter the reserve illegally, sits on the border of MCLM and City of Johannesburg. Despite the fence bordering both municipalities, the park itself (the site of the drownings) sits squarely in Roodepoort, so our neighbouring municipality cannot take all the blame. However, Arnolds said the only thing that is hampering progress in preventing the drownings is that the illegal entrance on the MCLM side has not been closed.
Putting the blame on Mogale City seemed to be a recurring theme in the MMC’s response, as when she was asked for a statement relating to the drownings, she said the following: “All the patrons that have unfortunately lost their lives, entered through the illegal entrance on Mogale City and NOT through Manie Mulder’s gate”.
Arnolds said her department would be meeting with their MCLM counterparts to follow up on progress with repairing the broken fence; however, meetings without progress were one of the points covered by Florence and Nico when opening the culpable homicide case against Arnolds. “The last thing we need is another promise for a meeting and then a month from now, we have another death and another meeting. We need action, and if it takes the City being held liable, then so be it,” said Nico while at the Roodepoort Police Station to open the case.
Arnolds was approached for comment regarding the case against her, but the answer to this question was not among the responses received by the Record. If comment is received, an update will be published.
