Angelo bush man integrated into society
Community leaders in Angelo informal settlement recently gave a helping hand to Paulos Mhlanga, who has been living all on his own in the bushes, nearby the informal settlement.
The community leaders, including Thomas Sibuyi, Elliot Masinga and others integrated Mhlanga back into the society this week, after he spent years alone in the bush.
They provided him with a piece of land to build his shack and his new neigbour, Steve Mogabuki donated building material to the bushman to build his new home.
According to Mhlanga, a couple of years ago, he abandoned his parents house in Zojini, KwaZulu Natal, and arrived in the city of gold looking for greener pastures, but he ended up giving up on civilisation to live in the wild.
“I expected greener pastures here, but it’s not the way I envisioned my life. I was unsuccessful with my job hunting, and this forced me to find a place to live and a way to survive,” explains Mhlanga.
Mhlanga dedicated his life to growing vegetables to survive, as well as collecting recyclable materials from a nearby dump site for cash. He spent years living on his own in a small shack in the bush, near Main Reef Road, where he runs the small vegetable garden.
Speaking about the most challenging part of living in the bushes, Mhlanga says some people would arrive at his place and provoke him, attack him, relieve themselves next to his shack, dump household rubbish, steal his belongings, including his vegetables.
Leaving the door open would also mean that animals would come inside his shack, such as scorpions, snakes and mice.
“Some people think I am a bit of a mad person, while others tell me to never abandon my place, because I was not troubling anyone.”
The construction of Mhlanga’s shack is expected to be completed by the end of this week.
