Family Court Stinks

February 20, 2009 permalink

The family court in Johannesburg has been shut down by the unbearable stench of human excrement. Plumbers cannot figure out the source of the problem. After the plumbing is fixed, will the stench continue?

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Stench making life at court unbearable

20 February 2009, Cecil Motsepe

A stench of raw human excretion brought the Johannesburg Family Court to a standstill yesterday with people fleeing the building as though it were on fire.

The building has been experiencing water cuts during the past two weeks, leaving toilets floating with sewerage.

One of the people at court said: “We can’t eat or drink water in here because the place stinks.

“It is like trying to eat while sitting inside a pit toilet.

“The water gets cut every morning and unfortunately the people continue to relieve themselves.”

When Sowetan visited the court building at about 11am, officials were preparing to leave.

No one seems to know what is causing the problem.

Court manager Monwabisi Sobahle said plumbers had been called in to locate the cause of the problem.

“We have organised 12 portable toilets because we don’t want this to affect service delivery.

“We will put them all over the court because we don’t want cases to be postponed because of lack of water,” said Sobahle.

But court officials, who spoke to Sowetan on condition of anonymity, said they could not work as the smell was becoming unbearable.

“This building has become a serious health hazard.

“While we would appreciate those portable toilets, the whole building is emersed in an overpowering smell of urine and other things we won’t mention.

“If it is not dysfunctional lifts we have to endure, it is the smell,” said an official.

Source: Sowetan