Mayenzeke Shiyani, 45 Lives in a Wall.
In his words "I miss home, especially waking up to Morvite, Weetbix and Jungle Oats for breakfast. I miss my mother and my two sisters, who I left behind when I took a bus to the city," Shiyani said.
He spends most of his time tucked in under his bright yellow blanket in the crack of a wall on Commissioner Street opposite the Johannesburg Central Police Station. He said he only leaves his cranny in order to go and wash himself, to buy food or to listen to a favourite radio station.
"I wake up at 2pm and walk to the filling station with my two-litre bottle to fetch water to bath by the corner. Then I buy food and, around 3pm, I listen to Radio Sonder Grense until it's time to get back to my spot at 6pm," he said.
Also tucked away are his few possessions, including a D'Ziner digital watch, fake gold bands on his left hand, and a backpack. His other prized possessions are a battery-powered radio, and his ID book, which is filled with pictures of soldiers and a poster of the war movie Jarhead. Shiyani's hole is neat, with his radio tucked away in one corner and his BB tobacco in the other.
Shiyani is unperturbed by being ignored by passers-by, who avoid eye contact as they walk past.
He could not explain what brought him to Johannesburg, but said he was a high-ranking clan member and a "leader of soldiers".
Source: Times
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