A Sea Point man has been rallying to feed the homeless in his neighbourhood during lockdown. Peter Wagenaar, however, has been met with opposition from other residents. Today [May 6], his car was set alight and he believes this is a result of the opposition from the community.
Recently, a number of residents complained about his feeding of the homeless. Many were upset and this led to Wagernaar’s address and car registration being posted on Facebook. He had also run into some issues with the police about this matter.
The owner of Vondi’s Holistic Pet Nutrition in Seapoint, Paul Jacobson posted Peter’s residential address and car registration on Facebook. Peter’s car got torched ? seen via @darrynvdwalt https://t.co/sffxFtwzAm pic.twitter.com/tulALkZfnZ
— Like ‘chow’ 林明巧 (@mingcheau) May 6, 2020
Wagenaar told EWN that he has been doing this for a while and many in the community took issue with it. According to him, the police requested that he provide his permit about two Fridays ago. He was in possession of a valid permit. Then this morning he found that his car had been torched.
“I believe it is someone who is so toxic who wants to deter me. I am at peace. We have 200-300 supporters. There are a handful of people who have been rallying against us,” he said to EWN.
Brett Herron, a member of the Good Party, posted a clip of Wagenaar’s interaction with the police on YouTube and took issue with the fact that his actions to assist were being curbed. Herron also said that the bombing of the car should be considered vigilantism.
“There were some in the Atlantic Seaboard community who were not happy with the decision or the fact that the feeding scheme was lawful. On the Atlantic Seaboard Action Group Facebook page the name, address and description of the good Samaritan’s car were posted. Last night his car was petrol bombed. This is shocking. It appears some people believe the law doesn’t apply to them. Ironically, the description of the ATLANTIC SEABOARD ACTION GROUP is “The law is the law and it applies to all, with no exception”. I have alerted the South African Police. This is vigilantism and the people who are responsible need to be prosecuted. The law is the law and it applies to all, no exception,” said Herron
Herron also said, in a tweet, that the South African Police Service have confirmed that Wagenaar’s feeding efforts were within the law. However, he added that some residents do not want to accept this.
The resident who posted Wagenaars address told News24 that he was not responsible for what happened. While he may have made a mistake by publishing that information, but he would never do such a thing.
Picture: Western Cape Gangwatch