‘It’s shameful’: The heavy weight of an abandoned Randfontein park [PICS]

It is 2013, and in Mohlakeng Extension 4, Randfontein, residents cheer with glee on grounds that were once metres of untouched grass, rocks, and trees.

Pampered and trimmed by an R11 million fresh cut, 10 polished braai stands now await meaty sizzles and charred grates. A stone amphitheatre is dug a step below into dirt to entertain in friendship and gossip.

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Two netball courts that neighbour a sand-pitted soccer field yearn for sweat and the strategic scuffle of legs. A waterfall fountain, shaped like a circular pool, serves as a playful distraction for those wanting to train their muscles a few metres away.

Revamped into Bambo Nobela Park by the Department of Forestry, Fishery, and the Environment (DFFE) pockets, the dressed-up land is ready for communal purposes.

Move on 13 years to 2026.

Residents now grumble at the loss of grounds dressed in metres of untouched grass, rocks, and trees.

The braai stands are nothing but sheets of slab.

A spot where Braai stands were stolen at Bambo Nobela Park, 9 April 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen

Weeds drown the amphitheatre.

Bulks of training equipment have vanished, apart from broken, remaining, rusted parts.

Bambo Nobela’s Park’s amphitheatre with overgrown grass, 9 April 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen

The soccer field is a pit of pebbles and bare metal posts. The netball courts sit headless without their nets; chunks of their paving are scooped out.

Beach Sand soccer field at Bambo Nobela Park, 9 April 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen

Bambo Nobela Park has been reduced to an unassuming bushy field regularly passed through by shortcut-takers.

Resident walks through deserted Bambo Nobela Park, 9 April 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen

‘It’s shameful’

Naledi Dlamini, who lives a few steps from the park, shook her head in disappointment as she walked The Citizen through the past of a once bustling place.

“It was a nice park…the kids used to play in the swings. There used to be competitions for soccer and netball,” she reminisced.

The remains of the concrete chairs next to a netball court at Bambo Nobela Park, 9 April 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen

She attributed the park’s neglect to vandalism, which then festered into a crime-ridden slaughterhouse.

“For it to be in this condition, there were people who started smoking drugs and raping ladies,” Dlamini said.

A place meant for connection was now avoided for safety reasons.

“The condition of this park is not the same because we can get robbed at night. It’s no longer safe to walk at night [either],” she said, agitatedly.

Themba Bhula, an elderly resident, sat with The Citizen on concrete chairs hugged by greenery. He perched a cigarette between his teeth as his wrinkled eyes solemnly scanned the derelict ‘Bambo’.

“It hurts me to see it in this condition. I can’t show it to my kids. It’s shameful,” he gravely shot, the points of blackjacks sticking to his grass-stained overalls.

The birth of Bambo

Bhula’s connection to Bambo runs deeper. He was a supervisor when it was under construction.

“I was part of the establishment of the park…The reason the park was built was because the area was an open veld [where] people were murdered and raped.

“The place was beautiful, and the community was happy,” his voice lifted in sweet memory, “But the problem started when we were dumped,” he fussed.

Bhula claimed that the contractor abandoned the project before the park’s completion.

Yes, the foundations and equipment were sufficient for residents to use to park. However, the amphitheatre was incomplete. The waterfall was incomplete. The toilets were incomplete,” said Bhula.

Bambo Nobela’s Water Fountain without irrigation pipes and a waterfall, 9 April 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen

The death of Bambo

“When nyaope came, all steel material was stolen, ” Bhula continued, blaming drug-filled residents for the current state of the park.

Ward councillor, Nozi Mapena, from the Rand West Local Municipality, echoed the sentiment, agreeing that the park was vandalised by residents four years after its construction.

“Paving was taken out. Chairs and all the outdoor training equipment that was in the park were taken out by the residents,” she told The Citizen.

The attempted resurrection of Bambo

Despite this, there were multiple (failed) attempts by the councillor and residents to resuscitate the park.

Initially handed over by the DFFE to the Rand West Local Municipality, Mapena said her municipality could not maintain the park on its own and instead turned to recruiting volunteers as a workaround.

“We have been suggesting to the community, especially the neighbours around the park, can you kindly group yourselves, [and] come to me so I can authorise you to take care of the park on behalf of the municipality.”

She said the municipality was planning to provide residents with maintenance machinery.

“But none of the people came forth,” she criticised.

“So, a group of people from the other adjacent ward have been the ones taking care of the park by themselves on their own budget. Which meant inconsistency was expected.

“It is not like the park has been totally neglected,” Mapena defended the overgrown weeds and piles of litter that the Citizen saw.

Litter camped next to the water fountain. Park, 9 April. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen

“The only problem is that the community cannot take care of its own facilities.”

She rhetorically asked how it is possible for residents in towns like Soweto to upkeep their parks but not Mohlakeng’s.

Bhula defended his community, saying, “The community is trying to maintain the park, but we don’t have the financial means.”

Ultimately, neither authority nor dweller seems to know the next step for Bambo other than letting the stone continue to crumble.

Residents are left to accept in grief what once was theirs.

“I just wish the park can be repaired and restored to its former glory,” sighed Dlamini.

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