This story needs to be shared because it is simple, not earth shattering, just simple and it reminds us of the natural goodness of our community.
On John Robbie’s show [yesterday], a man called in, Tapelo, reported a sighting of a naked man wandering on Jan Smuts at Zoo Lake.
Being a resident in the area and involved in the community and security, I drove to the location and managed to find him walking through Parkwood still on Jan Smuts.
He looked harmless but I was aware when I stopped my car, got out and approached him.
Unfortunately, I did not have a cloth or towel to offer him.
He didn’t stop or respond and kept on walking.
He was young, clean, calm, and carrying a book and some pamphlets.
He wasn’t drunk or high on drugs. He was just walking.
I followed him as I was concerned about his safety.
Another woman who had seen me stop, stopped her car about 400m ahead as she had a towel to give him. At this point, the security men from Urban Genesis in Parkwood, still on Jan Smuts outside the Goodman Gallery, had come to assist in stopping this man.
He didn’t seem affected by the goings on around him at all and still had not spoken a word.
In the interim, I had called Saxonwold CAP to assist as despite it being out of the area, they had a line to SAPS as my last call to 10111 served no purpose.
The Saxonwold CAP tactical officers arrived to wait with this man until Rosebank SAPS arrived.
In the wait, a man from across the road found a pair of jeans and a shirt for this wandering, naked man.
The security guards gently got him dressed and made a makeshift belt from shoelaces.
Once dressed, they gave back his book that he just stared at but it was of comfort to him.
I left the tactical officers on site waiting for SAPS to arrive, but after dropping off some water and about 45 minutes later, I eventually drove to SAPS Rosebank to find out what the hold up was.
I told the story to Lt. Colonel Govender and Captain Steyn who immediately got in his car and drove to the site with another officer.
Their response was so quick.
Unfortunately, there was only one sector policing vehicle out due to shortage of staff and they were busy on another scene but the response once I’d reported it to Rosebank SAPS was immediate.
The wandering naked man was taken to Helen Joseph and started speaking to the doctor once there.
Hopefully there he will be helped.
Thank you to the selfless people who assisted this morning: Tapelo who called it in, the woman who handed over her towel and takkies, the Urban Genesis Security who stopped him and gently helped this man get dressed, the thoughtful man who gave a pair of jeans and a shirt for him to wear, the Saxonwold CAP tactical officers for empathetically managing the situation until SAPS arrived, and Captain Steyn and his officer from Rosebank SAPS for jumping to it and responding so quickly once they knew.
It’s this kind of community spirit that we need to engender in our society every day.
- Tessa Turvey, Saxonwold and Parkwood Residents Association