Living with raw sewage: A family's tragic fight for health and dignity

After more than a year of pleading for help from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Alicia Koekemoer is finally seeing repairs begin on the sewerage system that repeatedly flooded her Algoa Park yard with raw sewage – a delay she says exposed her family to serious health risks, particularly for her husband, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Koekemoer (38) said the situation became critical after her husband Rickus (33) was diagnosed earlier in December with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

“The doctors told us that any bacteria – even flu – could endanger his life,” she said. “That’s when I decided enough was enough. I had to fight for my family’s health and safety.”

On Tuesday, 23 December municipal officials eventually began repairs to a manhole and clogged underground sewage line that the Koekemoer family had been pleading with the municipality to fix. Koekemoer said the delay had been frustrating and emotionally exhausting for the family.

“We are relieved that the repairs have finally started, but this process has been incredibly tiring and emotionally exhausting,” she said. “We have been pleading for help for months, and it should never have taken this long. We had to fight every step of the way for something as basic as sanitation. No family should have to fight this hard for a basic service.”

Koekemoer said the first signs of trouble appeared in March 2024, when sewage started backing up through a manhole just outside the back door of their home.

The family contacted the municipality, but waited “a while” before officials arrived. When they eventually arrived workers did quick work on the troublesome pipe and assured the family the blockage had been cleared.

However, within days sewage was backing up again.

After reporting the issue again, municipal officials were, according to Koekemoer, a no-show. Left with no alternative, the family began trying to resolve the problem themselves.

“My husband and I decided that enough was enough. The smell was just horrible and our children needed to play there. The sewage was right on my back doorstep. It was unbearable to live in such conditions. That is when we decided to roll up our sleeves and physically opened the pipes and scooped out the sewage, so that we can see where the issue was,” she said.

They discovered what appeared to be a “large blockage” in the sewer pipe on their property. Koekemoer said she and her husband were able to repair the blockage themselves.

However, by June 2024 the problem had escalated again, with sewage damming outside their door and attracting flies, with a putrid odour hanging in the air once more. Koekemoer said authorities only arrived at their house in December, did a “quick fix” and assured them again that the problem had been resolved.

In January this year, Koekemoer said, the sewage resurfaced yet again. She logged another complaint, but no one came out. Around the same time, two puppies the family owned became ill and died.

“We strongly suspect it was because of the contaminated sewage that had been pushed up the drain,” she said.

That same month, the couple’s son Rickus Jnr (4) was admitted to hospital with a “severe virus” and a very high fever.

“The doctors couldn’t determine exactly what it was,” Koekemoer said. “It wasn’t flu or tonsillitis. The doctors diagnosed him with a severe infection and he was in hospital for a day or two. We can just assume that he got sick because of the sewage.”

Concerned about the ongoing exposure, the family dug up the entire pipeline themselves, raising sections in an attempt to get sewage to flow away from the house. It was only a temporary measure.

After months of complaints, failed municipal inspections and what Koekemoer describes as officials “shrugging their shoulders”, the family again followed municipal procedures and even hired a private plumber, but were told nothing could be done because the affected pipes fell under municipal responsibility.

Then, on 4 December, Rickus was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, while doctors did not link this directly to the impact of the sewage link, Koekemoer says has it has been a punch in the gut for the family.

“It was a big shock for the family. We did not expect this to happen. Doctors warned us that his immune system is extremely fragile and that he needs to take extra precaution,” Koekemoer said. We are now even sanitising everything in the house to make sure that he does not get sick. But this sewage that is damming at the back of our house is one of the biggest fears for us as a family. If he gets sick the worst could happen.”

Koekemoer said that having to live with the sewage outside her door has been “undignified” and made daily life increasingly restricted.

“My children couldn’t play freely outside because of the sewage,” she said. “We couldn’t invite family over. I can’t even have a braai in my own backyard.”

Flies swarmed through the house, and the smell of raw sewage lingered constantly, settling into the rooms and turning everyday life into a daily ordeal.

“You feel ashamed about something that isn’t even your fault,” she said. “But it’s caused by poor service delivery that people pay for and don’t receive.”

Koekemoer said the ordeal had become a deeper question of dignity and what kind of living conditions residents were expected to endure. While the municipality repeatedly claims it cares about its residents, she said its actions tell a very different story.

“If it was your husband’s life that was in danger, or if your property had to look like this, how would you feel?” she asked.

“Would you be satisfied to live like this? Where is human dignity? Where is the caring? If something happens to him, how do I explain to my children what I did to try to prevent it?” she said. “I don’t want to raise my children without their father. And I don’t want to continue my life without him.”

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality was approached for comment on why it took more than a year to do repairs, but no response had been received by the time of publication. DM