MADALA ALBERT was tired of sharing his toilet with other families in the crowded kasi.
So he took the toilet into his yard and locked it.
AND GOT KLAPPED FOR HIS TROUBLE.
“When I moved the toilet to my yard no one helped me,” said madala Albert Lucingo (57) of Philippi block 6 in Cape Town.
He said he locked the toilet in April after fighting about it for months.
The SunTeam asked Albert why he locked the toilet.
“I don’t want to share it. I’m scared of the coronavirus and decided to put it in the yard next to my shack,” he said.
“I cleaned the toilet and bought a lock to make sure no one used it except me.”
But the neighbours, who live in the same road and share the mobile toilet, weren’t that happy for Albert to have his own private loo.
Neighbour Bongiwe Mpikwa said the toilet was supplied by the municipality and they were surprised Albert had locked it up, as if it belonged to him.
Said Bongiwe: “He never gave us a reason. We spoke to him, but he told us to look for another toilet. We started using other toilets on the street rather than fighting with him.
“The problem is that he gets drunk when he gets his grant money and shouts at us. This is why we beat him.”
She suspected he locked the toilet because he’s scared of corona.
“The problem started around April,” she said.
“He’d clean the toilet and even sanitise the door before opening it.”
Resident Ncumisa Kela (54) said there were more than 700 people in the area and not enough toilets for everyone to have their own.
“We must share. You can’t be selfish with a toilet,” she said.
Community leader, Nosakhele Zenzile, said every toilet needed to be shared by five people.
“It’s been an ongoing problem,” she said.
“When a person puts a toilet in his yard, he doesn’t want to share it.”
Albert, who has a gash on the back of his head, said he didn’t open a case with the police.
“I’ve forgiven my neighbours,” he said.
Mayoral committee member for water and waste, Xanthea Limberg, said residents should share toilets.
“Toilets provided by the city are intended for shared use, and the city’s ratio standard is one toilet to five families,” said Limberg.
“The priority when considering the placement of the toilets is accessibility by both residents and the teams that service them.
“If sections of a community are struggling with toilet access, the city can assist with mediating the situation.”
