- Muizenberg Police Station suffered extensive flooding from a damaged roof and structural flaws, affecting all floors
- The local Community Policing Forum criticized the conditions as inhumane for officers,
- Despite past promises of repair funding, inadequate maintenance persist
As Disaster Risk Management officials continue to assess flooded roads and infrastructure damaged in last week’s stormy weather, Muizenberg Police Station is back in the spotlight after the building flooded due to an alleged damaged roof and an array of structural defects.
In a video sent to the People’s Post last week, water could be seen flowing down stairs and hallways at the station.
The police station, which is reportedly housed in a heritage building owned by the Department of Public Works, has multiple flaws, including a damaged roof, a broken fence, electrical cables and damaged windows.
Heide Goodman, treasurer at the Muizenberg Community Policing Forum (CPF), tells the People’s Post that police officers are subjected to inhumane working conditions.
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“Last week was horrible and everyone is getting sick,” she said.
Goodman first highlighted the issue with provincial police management at a Muizenberg Community Imbizo.
The imbizo was held at Capricorn Primary School on Thursday 15 June last year (“Station falling apart,” People’s Post, 20 June 2023).
At the time, she described the station as ‘falling apart’ with holding cells underwater, toilets flooding and broken switchboards.
Promise
Commenting on last week’s flooding, Goodman said officers are still working in “horrible conditions”.
“A few years ago, there was a promise for a substantial amount to fix the building and then at the end of that year the money was drawn back,” she said. “The cabling in the police station needs to be fixed because often the computers don’t work, so the switchboard is on and off.”
Last week, excessive rain flooded both floors of the building as well as the basement, she added.
“The problems need serious attention. The two levels of the building and the basement, where the holding cells are, are literally half underwater,” she said. “I have not been allowed to see the holding cells, so we have encouraged churches to go in because they have access to pray with prisoners.”
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Goodman described how the building gets flooded every winter. “The water comes from the roof and then it floods down the stairs.”
Goodman claimed female officers felt unsafe in the workplace after the fence fell over, leaving the building open and vulnerable, while broken lights left the station in darkness.
The People’s Post reached out to Muizenberg Police who are yet to comment.
Meanwhile, Disaster Risk Management teams continue to assess the impact of residential flooding, flooding of roads and infrastructure as well electricity outages.
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According to the City, around 158 097 people and 47 663 structures were flooded or damaged since Wednesday 3 July.
Weather-related power outages are reportedly affecting 24 areas across the City, while around 18 “huge trees” were uprooted over the weekend in the areas of Sunnydale, Noordhoek, Silvermine, Sun Valley, Parkwood, Constantia, Tokai, Redhill, Lentegeur, Bellville, Durbanville, Kuils River and Eerste River.
