Everson Luhanga
It’s a dusty piece of ground where young kids like to spend their days happily playing soccer.
But this makeshift soccer pitch has become a place where thugs attack people and dump bodies in the surrounding bushes.
Public safety officer and a ward committee member Joel Mabaso told Scrolla.Africa that at least seven bodies have been discovered among the bushes bordering the pitch in Braamfischerville, Soweto.
He said the last body was found in March. “A lady was found chopped and dumped there. Another bullet-riddled body was found dumped in the same place earlier this year,” he said.
“The situation is traumatic to children. Parents fear that their children could be the next victims of these ruthless thugs.”
Mabaso said that some years ago he organised local parents to clear an open space, so children could use it to play football. But the work was soon undone by criminals.
“The goalposts are often stolen and sold as scrap metal,” said Mabaso.
Mabaso and the young players are forced to lock up the posts in someone’s yard every time after they’ve played to prevent them from being stolen.
He is appealing to the government to help clear the overgrown grass and to install streetlights.
Earlier this month, Scrolla.Africa reported on a heroic boyfriend who was shot dead after his girlfriend was robbed at gunpoint. This incident took place around the same bushes where the local children play.
Police say they need to have individual case numbers to trace the dockets so they can comment.
