“The vagrants and street people in our area have now gotten completely out of hand.”
These are the words of Table View resident Wendy Robertson who was allegedly attacked while attempting to report illegal traders in Sandown Road in Sunningdale last Sunday.
This stretch of road, especially heading towards the robot crossing on the busy R27 West Coast Road, is known for illegal trading and taxis parking illegally.
Robertson, who is part of the Table View Community Clean-Up team for the past nine years, says while driving down Sandown Road she noticed the illegal traders and the illegal taxi rank that was formed and stopped to report the issues.
“We have always been advised to report these issues within our community. I was not on hands-free so had to pull over to do this. In the past when I have done this at this exact spot, the operator has asked for license plate numbers and how many traders and what they are trading and so forth.
“I stopped so I can get the information for her because I know it helps the agencies attending to have this information on hand,” she says.
While she was making the call, Robertson says a woman walked over and spat on her passenger window and use the spit to write an offensive word.
“The other vagrants started to get riled up and I decided to exit the situation. I was behind a taxi and had the curb behind me and in my haste to get out, I ramped the curb,” she says.
Robertson says the vagrants threw yogurt at her front window, stoned and spray painted her car.
”They banged hard enough on my driver’s window that I thought it too would break. The damage to my vehicle is extensive. I got on the Table View Neighbourhood Watch radio to get assistance as I was scared of where this event was going,” she says.
Robertson says two armed response companies came to her rescue.
“They also threw one rock that missed my car and broke the taxi’s rear window that was in front of me,” she says.
Traumatised
Robertson says the whole ordeal was very traumatic especially in the wake of the latest taxi violence which had everyone on edge and fearful.
“These vagrants do not pick on the males in our group but are very aggressive towards the females. I do a lot of community work in my area and now have a situation where they are trying to scare me to step away and out of fear let them be.
“I will not allow them to scare me off helping my community in any way I can and do. Why should they be allowed to rule the streets over tax payers? I expect this matter to be addressed in the sternest manner and for these individuals to be arrested for at the least malicious damage to property, intimidation, and threat to life,” she told TygerBurger.
Robertson says their team engages with the street people to offer assistance, clean the area and work on educating the community to give responsibly.
“Unfortunately, this has over time led to the regular street sleepers getting to know the team and these street sleepers are the same people who trade illegally every day and have grown to a ridiculous number, especially at the drop and go Sandown taxi rank,” she says.
Investigation
Police also confirmed that they are investigating a malicious damage to property case.
Jonathan Mills, Ward 107 Councillor, says we all should take a lesson from the taxi strike.
“We cannot and must not tolerate lawlessness. Many of you know Wendy, a long-serving nurse and a committed community clean-up organiser who was targeted for violence because she stands up to vagrants who do not give a [bleep] about this community. Their only interest is how it helps them maintain a life with zero responsibility or basic consideration towards others,” he says.
