AN EASTERN Cape madala has made his broken down bakkie his home.
Bhistoli Mbelani (60), of Zingqayi Village outside Butterworth, spent his life working on the mines in Gauteng and returned to the Eastern Cape in the early ‘90s. The madala said he had a house on the land but, sadly it was destroyed by a storm in 1996.
“When I came back from Gauteng I bought a bakkie, which I used to ferry people to town. It broke down in 1995. I didn’t have money to fix it so I left it in the yard. After the storm destroyed my house I moved into the bakkie and have been living in it ever since.”
Bhistoli said he started receiving a pension in May. “The grant gave me a second lease on life as I started to rebuild my house. But the recent storms destroyed parts of the walls and I’m back to square one,” said the sad man. He said his clothes and other belongings are kept in the back of the bakkie, while he sleeps in the front.
“Living in the car is hard. I wake up early to have a bath. I don’t want to go to my relatives because I would be a burden on them. I don’t have a wife or children because I don’t have any place for them. Sometimes I think about taking my own life,” he said.
Neighbour Jongumzi Makapela (43) said they’ve been trying to donate money to help the madala to rebuild his house.
He said: “The mayor and all the previous ones know about this man’s situation but have done nothing to assist.”
Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha asked for Bhistoli’s details.
