Drug house raided

A RECENT dramatic two hour drug-bust led to the arrest of five Congolese immigrants and a confession from one South African citizen in Station Road Observatory.
Undercover cops from the Claremont's Crime Intelligence unit watched the drug house at 17 Station Road for two weeks, following the suspected drug dealers, and watching their movements. One of the undercover cops said that he received information from drug addicts that the house in Station Road supplied the drug dealers in Lower Main Road.
One of the undercover cops bought drugs from the suspected dealer who lived in the house that they raided, which verified their investigation.
Three men were arrested and taken to the Woodstock police station, and two women were not searched at the premises, because there wasn't a female cop on duty, and they were transported in an unmarked police vehicle to the precinct to be searched by a female police officer, while the third told the undercover cop that she "wanted to talk," and got into his vehicle.
Six undercover cops raided the home and turned the content of the house upside down.

Walking into the home, a strong stench made its way through from the kitchen area, which may have been old food. Bases of mattresses were ripped open, clothes scattered on the floor, TV's opened, eventually finding stashes of, what an the highest ranking undercover cop said was, the potent type of marijuana, and cocaine in the fireplace and the dustbin. The cocaine was wrapped in a white plastic bag with street value of about R200 to R300, and the marijuana, was valued at R150 per bank bag, of which they had fifteen bank bags, and a plastic bag full of marijuana amounting to over 50 bags.
Two weeks prior to this raid, another search was conducted at the same house, and the cops found 63g of Chrystal meth. No arrests were made, as there were no drugs found on the suspects themselves, but the suspected dealers weren't as lucky the second time around, when police found drugs on them.
With the first raid, the estate agency which is leasing the home, two doors from their offices, Rose Eedes Properties, were unaware and were only made aware of the second bust by the landlord, who happened to be passing through the area. Diane, the rental agent, said that the man leasing the premises was in Congo at the time, but arrived back in South Africa the day after the raid. She said that this was strange, because she had called to see him before, but he said he was unable to come down to South Africa.

The locks on the doors were immediately changed, and an immediate eviction notice was served to the former tenant.

Diane said that they kept a sign in book, to monitor the collection of items from the house by the former tenants family. On one occasion  three women signed in at the Rose Eedes reception desk, to collect the furniture from the house, shortly after, Natalie Mentz, secretary at Rose Eedes Properties, took the insurance guy to inspect the property. To her surprise, five men were shouting in the house and then had a go at her, asking her "where is my money?". She said she was so frightened that she left the property. Diane said that they found beer and cider courts in the fridges, and heard from friends of the accused, that they were selling liquor from the house.

*The raid seemed to filter through Obs drug trade, exposing the lines of communication between the drug dealers when, shortly after the arrests, a smartly dressed man walked up to the house. He claimed to be the brother of one of the men who was arrested. He looked worried, and immediately phoned around.
Later, ObsLife witnessed suspected drug-dealers, who we have seen dealing in Lower Main Road, outside Cozy Bar, walk towards the house. A homeless man, who usually washes the cars in Station Road, warned the man who was approaching the house, that the police are on the look and that he "must be careful." The suspected drug dealer then turned up Oxford Road instead of proceeding towards the just raided house.

The Claremont Crime Intelligent unit assists with Woodstock and Mowbray operations when need arises.

The statement received from Hilton Malila, Media liaison officer at the Woodstock precinct read as follows: "The arrest follows after the members received and followed up on information obtained about illegal activities at the Station road home . Upon arrival, police members found five people in the house. During a searching of the premises they confiscated a plastic bag filled with dagga, 15 bank bags dagga and a white plastic bag containing cocaine. The estimated street value of the drugs confiscated is plus/ minus R5000-00.
The suspects arrested made their first court appearance in the Cape Town magistrates court , on 28 January 2013 and was released on bail. They will appear again on 8 March 2013. The amount of bail paid is not yet known to the police."

Sizzling performances at the Summer festival

THE River Club may become the next Kirstenbosch Gardens, attracting big names and hosting summer concerts, because of the recent Summer Experience which attracted 1500 people to the venue, enjoying Micasa, Jimmy Nevis, Euphonik, Ryan Dent and many more.
The summer music festival organised by Big Dreams Production, was the first big event the River Club has hosted. The sound projected towards Maitland, with little sound escaping the grounds. Noise could not be heard from the streets and stayed within the venue.The event kicked off at 4pm and ended at 12am, which was a disappointment to the crowd, as the tickets and advertisements stipulated that the event would only conclude at 2am, but Shane Abrahams, organiser of the event from Big Dreams Productions, said that the City Of Cape Town only granted a permit for 12am.
The fear of congested streets and traffic violation from Trevor Hughes, resident in Obs, was thrown out the window, as The River Club provided parking for 800 cars, resulting in no parking issues, as space was still available for cars to park within the venue throughout the evening.
Micasa rocked the event with their soulful sounds a long with Jimmy Nevis. The event brought out big names such as, cricket sensation, JP Duminy, and Western Province rugby centre, Juan de Jongh, who took over the dance floor.People rocked up with their umbrellas and picnic blankets, and partied the night away.Shane Abrahams, the organiser from Big Dreams said that the event was a success and that he looks forward to hosting another one at the River Club.
Ticket prices from Computicket were sold at R150 for general-standing and R250 for VIP. Patrons paid R180 for general-standing and R280 for VIP at the door.
Jason said that the Concert went well and that it was a great success according to their client, Big Dreams Production.He said: “We had no problems and all ran very well. It ended at the time stipulated on our noise exemption certificate which was 12am. This was the time it was approved to run till.We cannot say if it will take place here again. This was not our concert; we simply provided a venue for a client. At this stage, there are no concerts planned for this year, however anything can change.”
Shane said that the venue worked well and that the event was a success. He said that the next Summer Festival will be returning to the River Club at the same time at the end of the year.
ObsLife couldn’t find anyone unhappy with the concert.

Succesfull ArtWalk

THE recent annual ArtWalk which included Observatory was described as one of the most successful.
The number of participants was boosted because the project, which aims to bring the public into the studios of local artists, formed part of the Cape Town Art Week.
Seven art studios in Observatory took part in the Art Walk, which also extended to studios in Woodstock and Salt River.
Over two days, studios and artists opened their opened their workspaces to the local community and the broader public.
In Obs, the participants included Bijou Studios, Peter van Straten, Spencer Street Studios, Paul Birchall, Thelma Mort and Jenny Parsons.
Mapped routes were designed to provide visitors with easy access to participating studios by following the ArtWalk routes.
Local artist Peter van Straten, whose studio in Milton Road received about two dozen visitors over the Art Walk weekend, praised the event, saying it seemed to be bigger and better organised than previous years.
He said the concept is very good for artists.
Unlike an exhibition at a gallery, it carries very little cost for an artist, who gets to sell his work from his studio without any gallery commissions.
Visitors come because they are interested in the work, as opposed to visiting a gallery as a social space.
Catherine Moss, owner of Artsource, said they held an art workshop which attracted many people. She reckons the big turnout was because ArtWalk took place under the banner of the Cape Town Art Week.

Popular boerewors stall turns seven

WHEN a boerewors stall starts taking orders telephonically from local businesses and residents it is clear that they are well established.
Two sisters, Veroda Schaffer, 42,  and Lorraine Classens, 38, are regularly seen taking orders by cellphone at their busy stall in Station Road, called the Blue Tent Burger Hut, in front of the Metro traffic training department.
They bought the stall from the previous owner, the Farbers butchery in Station Road which went bankrupt seven years ago.
There is no rest for the women, who are swamped with orders and who serve their regular clients the clearly popular boerewors rolls, burgers, steak rolls and cheese grillers.
Lorraine and Veroda live in Lavender Hill and Mitchell's Plain respectively, and travel to Observatory by train every day to open their stall at 9am and trade until 3.30pm.
Veroda says customers travel as far as Milnerton to buy their tasty food.
The sisters follow a low-price-high-volume strategy, and make enough sustain themselves and employ two homeless people who help set up the stall every day.
They buy their stock from Kwikspar and the Maitland butchery and keep their equipment overnight at Bernado’s Take-aways next to the Kwikspar.
Other costs include wages, paying the council for the stall R125 per month and stock.
Asked how they have experience the changes in Obs over the years, Lorraine says crime has increased and students don't roam the streets as much anymore and many businesses moved out.
She said: “Sometimes Obs looks like a ghost town (empty streets, hardly any people around)”.
On the other hand, Veroda says that Obs is being beautified and thinks they should be included in the improvement by upgrading to a wendy-house.
The stall is open from Monday to Friday and two Saturdays at the end of each month during summer.
To order, phone 072 429 7764.

Mosaic Artwork

ONE of the few pieces of public art in Observatory is almost hidden as a bus stop shelter outside the University of Cape Town’s medical library in Anzio Road, but once it catches your eye, it is as striking as the story behind it.
The mosaic mural called “Long Life” originated in 2002, when HIV positive women produced “body maps” on which they depicted their feelings and stories of living with HIV.
They were part of a support group called Bambanani (Xhosa for “hold” or “support each other”) in Khayelitsha. The members traced the outlines of their bodies on large pieces of paper.
On these figures, the women drew and wrote about aspects of their life with HIV.
The idea was to help them to come to terms with it, and to help free them from the stigma of the disease and feelings of guilt and shame that went with it.
It was at a time when HIV was highly politicised and was just emerging from its stigma as a death sentence to be seen increasingly as a treatable chronic disease.
The body maps produced in the workshops became quite well known and were exhibited as far away as New York.
In 2006, the University of Cape Town’s Works of Art Committee commissioned ceramicist and mosaic artist Lovell Friedman to turn it into a mural on the once-drab wall of the medical library.
The mural, consisting of three of the body maps, tells a remarkable story of healing and hope.

Seventeenth garden and counting

A DUSTY gravel patch under the Station Road Bridge along the railway fence in Oak Road has been beautified by an Observatory Improvement District (OBSID) public garden initiative.
The OBSID gardens, established with donations from residents and the hard work of OBSID gardener Ibrahim Chiwaya, now amount to seventeen.
The latest garden was initiated when Obs resident Anthony Wood, 69,  approached the OBSID about the gravel patch opposite Cape Mental Health in Oak Street, and asked if it could be converted into a garden. The gardening enthusiast and former nursery owner provided plants and mulch. Ibrahim spent three days establishing the garden in the hard soil.
The OBSID’s approach is to propagate plant water-wise plants in its gardens so as to minimise the need for watering.
But even so, the biggest challenge with the OBSID’s gardening effort so far has been the availability of water trolley’s to cart water canisters to each garden.

Four homeless died in 2012

THE harsh life on the streets took its toll on six of Obs homeless residents who passed away during 2012.
Obituaries of the six were read out at a Christmas lunch for Observatory’s homeless residents organised by the Observatory Improvement District.
The lunch, part of the OBSID’s Give-Responsibly Campaign over the festive season, was attended by about 56 homeless residents of Obs.
The Give-Responsibly Campaign is aimed at persuading Obs residents not to give cash to the homeless, as it usually ends up in the pockets of bottle store owners and drug dealers, and keep the homeless trapped on the streets. Residents should rather give meal vouchers, food donations and support for social-work projects.
OBSID Chief Operating Officer Ursula van Stavel said they are very grateful to residents who responded to calls for donations towards the Christmas lunch, which was held at the Salvation Army Church in Dane Street.
Johnny Burgoyne, Salvation Army  pastor, opened with a prayer. Each participant received a goody bag which included meal vouchers, Haven passports and toiletry packs.
The OBSID would like to thank Securistore, Loaves and Fishes, Obz KwikSpar, The Haven, Werner Steyn, Sean Walpole, Mya Zwicky, Matt Rich, and Kris Marais for their generous donations.
The six homeless residents who passed away during 2012 were Mita Jaarts, Pietie Boonzieer, Nofeko Tswanelo, Maria Baadtjies, Methew Williams and Kasiefa Links.