VANDERBIJLPARK – Is this a town or is this the Wild Wild West? Resident Sandra Viljoen might lean towards the latter.

Sandra, her children, and their four dogs reside on Hendrik van Eck Boulevard, SE6 … located across from a centre with two pubs (Mcafe and Rome), and a liquor store.

They have lived there for a year now, and like the rest of the residents in this area, are bombarded with music playing any time of the week or weekend until at least 02:00 in the morning.

When these pubs eventually do close for the night (around 03:00), the party continues outside.

“Our kitchen windows and front door vibrate due to the excessive noise. We struggle to sleep during the night, we struggle to concentrate when working from home or studying, and we can barely relax after a long day,” says Sandra.

“These partygoers will shout, laugh, shoot guns or crackers, rev their motorcycles and cars, leave empty and/or broken bottles everywhere, and urinate against walls or trees.

“Our poor dogs are constantly barking or shaking as they are scared of all these noises. The smell, when walking over the street, is unbearable. When Mcafe puts up a tent for events, these issues increase tenfold.

“People will buy liquor and sit in the parking lot drinking. This contributes to the excessive noise levels and broken bottles everywhere”.

But just when Viljoen thought things couldn’t get worse … it did.

On July 20, they were woken up by four gunshots ringing out from the Mcafe parking lot at around 02:00.

After inspecting that everything was in order, she discovered a bullet hole that went straight through their front door and hit the wall in the foyer. Pieces of wood and paint were strewn over the floor.

“We were so shocked and filled with anxiety that we struggled to get back to sleep,” says Viljoen.
That stray bullet could easily have caused loss of life or grievous bodily harm.

“We find these living conditions unacceptable. We do not feel safe in our own home. We will have to move,” says Viljoen.

* On March 13, a taxi driver was killed in front of Mcafe during a hail of bullets.