Ash, a tree trunk and wires from a burnt tyre are some of the remaining charred objects that tell the horrific tale of Elvis Nyathi's last moments in Diepsloot — a place he had called home for six years.
A group of angry men had dragged him from his shack in the dead of night. They beat him with a golf club before setting him alight as he pleaded for mercy. They killed him because he was a foreigner and could not produce his passport.
Nyathi's neighbours pointed to where he had drawn his last breath. Just around the corner, children play umgusha (an indigenous game) about 10 metres from Nyathi's home, oblivious to the pain and trauma his family is going through.
Traces of dried blood are still visible on the ground.
Life seems to be back to normal on Thubelihle Street though there is an eerie feeling of uneasiness as remnants of the past two days of protest are still visible as taxis manoeuvre around the rubble on the streets. Top Dog Hair Salon is open and street vendors are back selling again.
“I must dig underground and build my house, because we are clearly not safe anywhere in this country,” said a woman standing with neighbours as they watched a contingent of journalists taking photographs and videos around the scene where Nyathi was killed. Children of school-going age had not been to school and were roaming about.
We passed the street leading to one of the victim’s house three times, as we hopelessly tried to navigate through the narrow streets of Ext 1.
Shacks are stacked closely next to each other right on the edge of the pavement. “You have passed it, it is over there, but you won’t be able to drive in, leave your car here and walk,” said a resident with a drink in his hand.
He pointed us to a narrow gravel road laced with worn-out carpet covering a makeshift drainage system as sewer passes through to drain onto the street. We walked gingerly over the sewer and carefully kept our eyes on every step we took. Any clumsy step could end with a shoe covered in sewage.
You cannot ignore the stench of poverty that welcomes you as you enter Diepsloot, which is less than five kilometres away from one of the wealthiest residential areas in the country, Steyn City.
One yard of about 20 square metres can host five shacks, with communal mobile toilets which give a stench of neglect from metres away.
Diepsloot is home to many unemployed South Africans, Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Lesotho nationals. A place which the government has turned its back on. Nyathi's death is the manifestation of the community's years of pleading with police to enforce their authority on crime.
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