FOLLOWING a shooting incident in which a hustler was killed and others injured, the Buffelsdraai dumpsite has been closed.
The dumpsite in Osindisweni, Durban, was closed on Friday, 14 June.
On Wednesday, 12 July, a total of 18 hustlers collecting plant waste and food at the Buffelsdraai dumpsite were allegedly shot at by security guards.
The shooting, which led to the death of a 29-year-old hustler Njabulo Mbonambi, who regularly collected plastic waste at this dumpsite, sparked anger among local residents and his family.
But when they learnt of the closure, residents and Njabulo's family were pleased.
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They said that while this won't bring Njabulo back, at least something has been done.
Speaking to the Daily Sun, Njabulo's aunt Vamisile Mbonambi said that while the closure won't bring her nephew back, at least it shows that the eThekwini Municipality has come to its senses after this tragedy.
"We hope that they closed it for investigation because we suspect that there could be more people dead. What the guards did was very painful because after firing shots at the people who were there collecting plastic waste and food, they burned the dumpsite. Even on the rubble where we found Njabulo, it was burning. Maybe they wanted to burn him so we wouldn't find him. I don't know," she said.
She said they heard that the fire was allegedly started by the hustlers, but that wasn't true.
Vamisile said they're making funeral arrangements for Njabulo.
Resident Mpilo Ntuli said they had heard about the closure, but all they needed was a thorough investigation into the matter.
Lindiwe Khuzwayo, head of communications at eThekwini Municipality, said the city would like to inform residents, clients, and the general public that the Buffelsdraai landfill site has been closed until further notice.
"This follows unfortunate events of the past couple of days, when the site was invaded and set alight by some members of the public, leading to a confrontation between security personnel and invaders.
"This confrontation and its aftermath is now being investigated by the police," she said.
She said that in the meantime, customers are advised to use the Illovo landfill to dispose of general waste. The Illovo landfill is located at D982, Illovo Farm.
"The public will be notified when operations resume at the Buffelsdraai landfill," she said.
