A parolee allegedly peddling drugs, teenagers stealing from tenants, and young people having sex in their cars.
These are the scenes that are allegedly playing out at Donovan McDonald Retirement Centre in Florida, west of Johannesburg, according to elderly residents who live there.
During a visit to the centre, the elderly told Sunday World that “illegal” occupants are running amok at the facility, causing chaos.
The old-age home was thrust into the limelight three weeks ago when the Johannesburg High Court dismissed an application by the City of Johannesburg to evict people who are residing at the centre, save for those who are registered on the city’s list of “vetted occupants”.
The City of Johannesburg owns and runs the 183-unit centre for older people.
In its arguments presented in court on August 20, the city alleged that the illegal occupants at the centre pose a risk to the elderly and are responsible for drug peddling, prostitution, and petty crimes.
In his judgment handed down on September 2, Judge Stuart Wilson said the City of Johannesburg could not prove that illegal occupants are responsible for these crimes, nor could it prove that they pose any risk or threat to the elderly staying at the centre.
The residents at the centre expressed their unhappiness about the judgment.
Parolee abuses old people
Leesun Gregory York, 68, a resident of the centre for two years, claimed that some of the apartments had young people residing in them who had not received permission from the city to do so.
York said the centre is meant for people who receive an old-age grant from the South African Social Security Agency.
He stated that he gets a R2 190 grant and pays R230 rent per month. Electricity at the centre is prepaid.
He described how people who were not eligible to live there hijacked the place.
“An elderly person living here would get sick and call their children to look after them. The elderly person starts living with their children in their unit. Once the elderly person dies, the children take over the unit and live there,” said York.
“An elderly person should take care of themselves. If they are unable to do so, they should inform the city and go live at a place properly equipped to take care of sickly or frail people.
“A sick person cannot live here … There are a lot of teenagers living here who have stolen tyres and car batteries from cars of the elderly that live here.”
He went on to say that there was even a parolee who lived at the centre and was always fighting with the senior tenants. Sunday World knows the parolee’s name.
Stealing from the elderly
Another resident who refused to be identified said: “A lot of illegal people are living here. There are children who are looking after their parents.
“When the parents die, the children continue living here and steal from us. They steal clothes from washing lines and steal our jewellery.”
Another resident who chose to remain anonymous said: “I have seen young people smoking drugs and having sex in their cars. They have turned this place into a jungle.
The resident said the parolee sells and smokes drugs as well.
Vanitha Kuni, 65, said: “I have seen taxis drop off school kids here. There are kids who live here with their grandparents.”
Kuni, who has been living at the centre since September last year, said she pays R200 for rent every month from her R2 190 old-age grant.
Nthatisi Modingoane, the spokesperson for the City of Johannesburg, did not respond to Sunday World’s questions.
Five-year jail term
Singabakho Nxumalo, the spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services, said the department is not aware of allegations made against the parolee.
Nxumalo said there is nothing wrong with the parolee living at the centre because he is employed to work there by the centre manager.
He claimed that on September 16, 2019, the Roodepoort magistrate’s court found the parolee guilty of burglary with intent to steal and theft.
The parolee was handed a five-year sentence on the same day he was found guilty. He was granted parole on May 24, 2022, and his sentence expires on February 10, 2025.
He was living at an old age home with both of his parents, and the manager of the centre employed him there, making it his place of employment as well, said Nxumalo.
“The department was never made aware of these allegations, and he has been reporting or complying with his parole conditions.
“The department will not hesitate to act should the manager report that the parolee is misbehaving.
“There is no law that forbids any person to stay at his or her place of employment, for as long as his or her employer is comfortable staying with him or her,” said Nxumalo.
