Campaign to close Durban nature reserve amid safety concerns

A community initiative to take Burman Bush back from criminals who stalk the pathways was too late to save musician Simon Milliken who was stabbed to death in the conservancy on Friday night.

Ward councillor Martin Meyer said that in recent weeks‚ he and members of the community had made great strides in securing the reserve which had become a hotbed of criminal activity.

Milliken‚ a doyenne of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra‚ had been walking in the park with a friend when the pair was accosted by man with a knife.

His friend fled but Milliken was run down and stabbed – his body found near a pathway on Saturday morning. “A solution was found for the issues with the fence‚ and the community was in the process of setting up a conservancy with a Friends of Burman Bush to work together to improve‚ not only the security‚ but the infrastructure at Burman Bush‚” Meyer said in a statement.

“It is a sad indictment on this city that has been unable to keep our public open spaces safe and secure for our residents and visitors to use. By allowing infrastructure to collapse and by not acting sooner to improve security‚ the municipality has let our community and our city down.”

Meyer said that he had been drawing attention to the issue of crime for three years.

“Sadly tragedy must strike before action is taken in this city. I have also requested the parks and recreation department to temporarily close Burman Bush for the public until the municipality has been able to improve the security situation at the reserve‚” he said.

The municipality did not immediately respond to queries.