It's smaller than the inside of a minibus taxi, big enough for a human being to squat in. It's a toilet – and one man calls it home.
It's smaller than the inside of a minibus taxi, big enough for a human being to squat in. It's a toilet – and one man calls it home.
Willie Rooi, a 61-year-old Zolani Township resident, has been living in a toilet for more than three months. Even as he told Grocott's Mail this, the stench behind him from this makeshift abode was overpowering.
Rooi, originally from Fort Beaufort, says he came to Grahamstown in December to look for a job. "What else do I do?" he asked. "I need a roof over my head. This is the closest thing to a home for me."
The owner of the house where Rooi lives declined to be interviewed. Rooi said she allowed him to use the toilet to sleep in, because she had no space for him in her three-roomed mud house. The toilet he calls home for now is still used by the owner and her family – mostly during the day.
"I cannot stand the cold, or the rain," Rooi said. "This is better than nothing. "The first month I came here, I slept under a nearby tree nearby – but I couldn't continue because the place was dangerous."
According to Rooi, relations between him and his Grahamstown-based relatives had soured. Zolani, where Rooi lives, is one of the poorest areas among Grahamstown townships.
Service delivery is lacking on many fronts – there is no electricity, almost all houses are mud structures, there are no proper toilets, or running water. Residents draw water from taps in Xolani township, or Joza.
