GQEBERHA – Cars queue for a wash where police vans once stood parked. At the corner of a crime-ridden stretch in Walmer Township, water pipes snake through the ruins of what used to be a SAPS satellite station.

Men scrub vehicles in the former parking lot, while inside the vandalised shell of the building, blankets, shoes and broken rubble hint at people seeking shelter in the abandoned structure at night.

Finding the old station was not easy. When the PE Express stopped to ask residents for directions, several appeared confused.

“Are you talking about the car wash?” one resident asked. And that is exactly what the former SAPS satellite office has become.

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The building — stripped of its windows, roof and sections of its walls — now stands hollow and forgotten in a community where residents say crime has spiralled and visible policing has disappeared.

Faded signage hangs at the entrance, while a dog wanders freely through what was once a municipal facility meant to provide safety and security.

Residents fear rising crime in the area

For nearby resident, Nothini Payi (67), the abandoned building represents more than urban decay — it is a daily reminder of fear.

“I’m so scared, I am old … at my home, they can easily kick the doors open. I don’t feel safe and can’t sleep at night,” she shared. “We need this police station reopened because we need people who will protect us.”

During a site visit on 26 May, Democratic Alliance (DA) mayoral candidate, Retief Odendaal, said the closure of the facility in 2017 had left a major policing vacuum in the area.

“This was a satellite police station, and it closed its doors in 2017 and for years we have been fighting to get SAPS to reopen,” Odendaal said.

“Walmer township has many crime problems, the community just don’t feel safe anymore.” He added that the area has become a hotspot for crime.

According to Odendaal, police withdrew from the site after officers stationed there were allegedly robbed.

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“The reason SAPS withdrew their resources is because the police men and women were robbed, so they said it was not safe enough,” he shared. “That is an indictment on SAPS because if it’s not safe enough for police, it is certainly not safe enough for the local community.”

In response to questions on why the station closed at the time, police spokesperson Captain André Beetge said the municipal-owned building was vacated after structural concerns were identified.

“The office was located in a municipally owned building and after water and structural damages, the Department of Public Works did an inspection of the building. It was found not to be fit for use as office space any longer and SAPS was notified to vacate the premises,” he shared.

Beetge added that the premises in Fountain Avenue, Walmer, had been used as a contact point and office accommodation for the SAPS Walmer Community Police Forum (CPF).

“The South African Police Service can confirm that the premises in Fountain Avenue, Walmer were utilised as a contact point as well as office accommodation for the SAPS Walmer Community Police Forum (CPF) and were not in the true sense seen as a ‘satellite police station’.”

Municipality provided no clarity on water usage

While a large green JoJo tank stood at the entrance of the abandoned building, no pipes were connected to the water tank.

Instead, taps and pipes attached to the premises appeared to be supplying water used to wash vehicles.

Questions sent to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality on whether municipal services at the site, including water, are still accessible to the public and remain operational went unanswered.

The municipality also did not respond to questions regarding who would be responsible for the water bill if municipal water is being used for a car wash at the premises.

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