Business owners in Nahoon's Beach Road are complaining about a homeless man who harasses them and their customers.
The situation is so bad, one business owner and her employee had to take out protection orders against him.
He is also alleged to have assaulted a car guard who is recognised by the business community.
Oshean Wiggill, owner of 2 Sisters, a vegan eatery on Beach Road, said she and her chef Unathi Phama were being harassed by the homeless man.
He is said to have appeared in the area early this year and started causing trouble with car guards who regularly work in the street.
“I was watering my plants and as I bent down, he started humping the air and saying something in Xhosa to me,” Wiggill said.
At the time she asked another car guard who works in the area to talk to him.
The incident happened in April. Later the same month, Wiggill’s chef was accosted by the man.
“Unathi, my chef, got out of a car driven by a man who was not South African.
“Apparently the homeless man could tell the driver was not South African and he went off at Unathi, saying she liked to have sex with foreigners while he was a real man.
“He then said he would like to have sex with her.”
After these incidents Wiggill called the police who came and removed him.
They also advised her and the chef not to talk to him.
Phama confirmed the incident, saying she had applied for a protection order against him.
“He would say sexual things and I felt sexually harassed.
“He would say he wants me and I would tell him that I don’t want to hear those things from him but he ignores it.
“I would feel unsafe. Another day, he said he wanted to share a bed with me; he wants me.”
Now many people working in the street feel unsafe after the man allegedly assaulted Zingisani Dongeni, a car guard based in the street.
Dongeni told DispatchLIVE he was surprised when the man hit him over the head with a stick.
He was taken to hospital for stitches and police were called again and arrested the man.
“I am unhappy because I was beaten up by someone for no reason, Dongeni said.”
Faye Meaker-Saunders, owner of the bakery Sugar.Com, confirmed the man’s behaviour worried them. They had tried to make the street safer.
“He is always just causing problems. He leans on the windows and makes customers uncomfortable; he always has a stick he is throwing.
“He fights with all the car guards.”
She said they had spent months trying to get rid of him.
Wiggill gave the Dispatch two case numbers relating to the man’s arrest but NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali could only confirm one case where the man appeared for assault and another for possession of illegal drugs.
Police spokesperson Warrant officer Majola Nkohli said Cambridge police are investigating a case of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
"It is alleged that a 32-year-old man who is a car guard was assaulted by another car guard whilst they were on duty on Wednesday, 06 July 2022, in Beach Road, Nahoon. The circumstances surrounding the incident are forming part of the investigation."
No arrests have been made and the investigation continues.
DispatchLIVE
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