‘No webcam modelling in Buccleuch’ – community

Residents from the Buccleuch community rallied on February 13, to pay a house visit to a neighbour originally suspected of running a brothel from the property.

The community had previously reported the property to Sandton police, who raided the property on February 2. On the morning of February 13, a message circulated from Buccleuch inviting community members and the media to participate in a house call to the property to speak to the inhabitants.

“Dear residents, as discussed during the community meeting held on February 10, a brothel has been identified less than 100m from Buccleuch Primary School, across The New Church Buccleuch,” the WhatsApp message said.
“Naked women outside, noise, litter, and vehicles dropping them off putting our community at risk; we need to take a stand against this.”

Many residents answered the call to unite over this matter. The crowd expanded with the arrival of a mini-bus taxi from Light of Hope Homes and Schools full of male youths from the community taking a stand for the children who ride bicycles and skateboard up and down the road recreationally.

The community congregated outside the primary school gate of their neighbour renting the house.

While still outside the school, the community members were joined by representatives from the house, who inserted themselves into the crowd gathered. Their representative, who chose not to be named amid all the ensuing chaos, addressed the gathered crowd, dismissing the suggestion that members of the house were engaging in prostitution. She explained that they were webcam models generating live, online experiences for their clients.

“Nobody is getting abused in that house,” she said.
“The boss just provides shelter and a living. Prostitution is not allowed. We work for a site. He collects the money and redistributes among us.”

Community members remained unimpressed upon hearing her out and were more sympathetic to the homeowner Musenge Sibande – who broke her silence about the ordeal she has suffered trying to evict the tenants from her house.

“He’s been in the house since 2016,” Sibande said.
“When Covid happened, money stopped coming in. Unfortunately, I lost my husband during that time. I revisited it in 2021, then my mother died. Every time I went there, a woman insulted me.”

Sibande lamented that her tenant owed rent in the amount of R110 000. She has been contacted to hear her side of events in a more peaceful setting.

Webcam models create content for adult consumption on fan-based subscription sites. While webcam modelling isn’t an illegal activity, the community in Buccleuch has taken issue with the adult service being tendered so near to a school, and places of worship.

Community members gathered outside the house, where a gold BMW belonging to the tenant was being used to transport computer parts, according to community member Xolani Cele, who learned from fellow residents what the house was being used for.

“Something was happening at the house; I was coming back from picking up kids at school when I drove past and I saw two girls jumping out of a car,” said community member Cele.
“They were skimpily dressed, so I asked what was happening at this house. Everyone [who I asked] told me that it’s the house where we suspected that there could be prostitution.”

Cele shared that his main concern with the property is that something can go wrong, and result in any of the community’s children becoming collaterally harmed.

Regional police spokesperson Captain Jeff Phora was contacted to confirm that a gun and drugs had indeed been found inside the property when they raided the house on February 2, at 15:00.

“On the above-mentioned date and time, information was received from a reliable source of a man dealing in drugs in the Buccleuch area,” Phora said.
“Members planned and operationalised the information on the given premises, where they found a male who was found in possession of drugs.

“The suspect was also found in possession of a licensed firearm. He was detained by Sandton police. He was charged with both contravening the Firearms Act and possession of drugs.”

Community member Gerard Buys’s concern is that South Africa’s unemployment rate may lead to the youths in the community turning to the life of webcamming as their solution to making money in this shaky economy.

“I’m protesting against this live pornography in [our] area. I feel like they’re bringing evil into this area,” Buys said.
“Thinking about our country, and the situation at the moment with employment, if they are left to influence school leavers with their ideas that they can make a quick source of income by doing the wrong thing – I am totally against that. That’s why we need to nip it in the bud before it spreads in Buccleuch.”

By approximately 18:45 a small victory had been won by the community, as women from Buccleuch entered the property to help the webcam models vacate the premises.

More on this story will follow as further details are made available.

Related Article: Bryanston community members keep fit by the river