Ethembeni Children’s Haven is under threat
The children at the orphanage are threatened by the people building their shacks and they are scared
One thing children should not be denied is a home or a place where they can feel secured.
Ethembeni Children’s Haven is being threatened and their land is taken away from them by the same community they belong in.
The non-profit organisation was established by Pastor Jeremiah Zulu in 2005 and the children have been living at the orphanage peacefully until recently.
Son of Pastor Zulu and Ethembeni Children’s Haven manager, Pastor Cedric Zulu, said that Pastor Zulu owned a total of 21 hectares before people came from nowhere and built shacks on the plot.
“He managed to get a title deed for the remaining five hectares where Ethembeni is situated,” he said.
He added: “My father asked to be compensated by the municipality for the 16 hectares that the community has occupied out of the 21 hectares but he never received anything.”
The community has cleared parts of the five hectares to build shacks and filled the foundation that Pastor Zulu had dug to have a wall built around his five hectares.
“They have taken over the windmill and reservoir that is by the entrance of the orphanage and they are stealing our livestock that is within the five hectares,” Pastor Cedric said.
According to Pastor Cedric, there are about 100 shacks that have been built by people in the plot.
The children at the orphanage are threatened by the people building their shacks and they are scared.
“They threatened the children that they will remove them out their dormitories so that they can have a clinic instead of an orphanage and then where will the children go,” Pastor Cedric said. Ethembeni Children’s Haven matron, Bongi Mofokeng, said that the children at the orphanage do not feel safe anymore because they are being threatened. “They are scared of these people and they not free in their own home,” she said.
Municipal spokesperson Kingdom Mabuza said that it is not the municipality’s responsibility to evict people who have occupied the land which belongs to Ethembeni Children’s Haven and Pastor Zulu in response to the issue.
Mr Mabuza explained: “We advice whoever has his or her land occupied illegally to approach the court of law and obtain an eviction order. We as the municipality also take that legal route in an event that council land is occupied illegally. As the municipality we do not have powers to evict anyone without first obtaining an order from the court.”
WITBANK NEWS was advised by Pastor Cedric Zulu and Blessing Zulu to not approach the people who are building their shacks as a safety precaution.
