September followed a previous season of this silent war against me and my family, but it took a different turn when AirBnB prices surged once again as the peak season was reaching its conclusion. The average price of a room for three people was standing at 1000 euros per week. This is not for spaces that were upmarket. This was for the standard, musty apartment or room in a house. It seemed that all searches across other platforms led us to a financially safer option in Bunclody. We'd drive two hours away from the city with the intention to give ourselves some relief - both financial and mental - from all the chaos and surveillance of the city.
We arrived in the town, the stop not far off from the place itself, which was situated opposite Supervalu. It was a Bed and Breakfast called The Monkey Puzzle, to which I recall thinking: "This better not be another nutty experience". Without going too far into detail, I will state the main things that progressed to an unprovoked forced removal from the property on the 30th of September.
- We arrive, self check-in, code provided on AirBnB and room keys were at the door of the room on the first floor. It was clear that we were the only ones here.
- I find out later that Obama was in Dublin to receive a Freedom of Dublin award. I figured that must be why the prices were still high, and even higher than during peak season.
- We had one issue with the room - It had a camera right near the room door, which, when you open it, one of the beds is right there, in view. The only cameras that were disclosed as being there were the cameras in the parking lot. The house was also very eerie, but that was just the nature of it, I suppose. Everything was functional. The issue was the camera. This concern was fuelled by the concern about the shower and the bathroom being shared and lacking any sufficient demarcation between male and female. But we were the only ones there, as far as we could sense.
- We addressed this on the platform - about the camera - and tried to resolve it. And the host responded by saying that there were no other rooms she could move us to.
- On Saturday, guests come in. One of the guests, an elderly woman had asked me to allow access to her the house as she had a booking and was waiting for Agnes. Respectfully, I noted that she looked a bit like a witch. So, I was weary, especially because of her timing when I arrived from the store and she was waiting at the door in this very quiet place.
- So, I let her in so she could sit in the reception rooms and wait there. When I went to the kitchen from the bedroom, she came in as she heard me, seeming to know the place very well. I was tired so I just let her talk. She spoke about the coffee and when she did, I vowed not to drink it. I already had, but now, I was more steadfast in that decision. As I prepared a meal for me and my sisters, the host, I assumed, came in through the kitchen and greeted me after giving me a "look". Again, I was tired and didn't feel like acknowledging the look of disapproval, greeted back and went on about my business. I had much to do after all.
- Later that night, more guests came. A middle aged couple followed me to the kitchen that evening as I was going to help my sister preparing supper. They decided to bother me. The woman eyeing me cutting cucumber or something on the steel surface, asking if there was a cutting board. The husband chimed in. I shrugged my shoulders and when I spotted them, I gestured and said: " There they are", thinking he wanted to use it. After that, she tries to explain to me where I should throw the food bits left over and ignored her because I would have some choice words for her as she placed her bag on the counter to challenge me, looking for something else to say and nitpick to make me uncomfortable. I laughed and stated that the steel top was actually functional for using its surface and offered that it was actually better than eating the plastic shards of the plastic cutting board. Eventually, I put my knife down and said, " Please son't try to bully me. I see exactly what you're doing..." or something like that and continued helping my sister to cook. The husband had to usher her out as she challenged me with a gaze.
- Later that night, this same couple was in the shower upstairs stomping the floor so that noise would enter our room downstairs. When my sister went to check, she saw them later coming out and chuckling. That night, there was a lot of sound of stomping and furniture moving from upstairs (As id the case in other stays as well). She confronted them and whoever else was stomping.
- Another issue I had in this place was that my VPN dissappeared from my computer after I could not connect to internet with it. It was completely gone. I had to download another VPN. This obviously messed with my work.
- The next morning, the same elderly lady essentially ran to the kitchen when I came out of my room to prepare a coffee. She looked at the silver coffee pot and said: "Oh, you're making your own special coffee?". I wondered what her deal with the coffee was. I answered, "Yes, it's a mushroom coffee or something". I shouldn't have lied but was explaining why I wasn't drinking the coffee granules provided by the host, the jar now refilled.
- After the weekend, we were the only ones in the apartment again. Or so we thought. My sister was in the shower and there is a lock on the door, but someone had opened the door to the shower while she was in there. So, her antennas were up again. She'd been trying to resolve this matter with AirBnB to replace the booking but they were only fuflilling KPIs. They had no intention to actually resolve the matter, as they offered no real viable solutions. We concluded that they were complicit and planning something, because this was not their first try with us.
- My sister did not feel safe and held that something was very wrong. I felt the same way, though not to the same extent. I was more anxious about work.
- I read on the news that Elon Musk and Peter Thiel were named in the redacted Epstein list. (Just a noteworthy thing we had discussing)
- A day or two later, the host knocks on our door, demanding we leave the property. We didn't understand why. Was it the camera complaint that could have been easily resolved?
- We refused, recorded some of the incident but of course, my internet was being tampered with in there. That might, a Garda was hanging out with the host. My sister was making late tea and when she saw the bright neon of the Garda, she stuck her head out the window, asked if everything was okay. The officer snarky replied: " Everything's perfect"
- Next morning, someone bangs the door. We asked who it was. No answer. They banged the door again. After a while, the code of the door was being entered and they could not enter because we had a safety lock on the door in case of situations like this or worse.
- They broke the lock eventually. Panting, the Gardai (a man and a woman) tell us to vacate the property. We ask why. They argue. We ask what wrong was done here? They just say, :Girl's, pack your things. You have to leave." We asked why they are handling what they themselves would call a civil matter? They argue unreasonably. The hosts were present, particularly the man. I was still in bed and asked them to leave while we pack; especially the men and the officer who was making himself comfortable in there while I was waking up.
- The host offers my sister cash when she reached the door and he looked worried when she refused and told him to sort it out on the platform (the case was not resolved); a woman standing at the door was recording us.
- We saw that AirBnB had policies against cameras in undisclosed locations as part of the listing. They altered their policy days later, but we already had taken screenshots of those policies, clearly stated.
SO,
- 29th and 30th September was the duration of the involvement of Gardai in the AirBnB Monkey Business incident
- Monkey Puzzle, I noted, was a new establishment.
- The hosts, who sounded Irish when speaking English, also spoke a Slavic language, which would not be too strange if not for the assimilating behaviour that felt very much like a production.
BREAKING NEWS
- When we checkin in to another hotel that day, searched South African news, because I had a hunch this happened for a reason bigger than a dispute. An attempt at us gone wrong, perhaps?
- 30th Septermber, The South African Ambassador to France and former minister of police (Nathi Mtethwa) was found having fallen or jumped off a 22-story Hyatt hotel building. Around the same time of the incident, this story was published. I was shocked, and couldn't help but wonder if it was connected somehow
BACK TO THE CITY
- Back in the city, we sat at a Starbucks before the next check-in.
- I immediately started working on what footage of the Gardai and hosts incident we could find.
- A Chinese lady working in Starbucks rushed us out of the top floor to close the section while I was stringing the clips together to post online for safekeeping of the data.
- That night, it rained. A South African man tried to intimidate me and may have had something to do with the dissappearance of the flash drive I was using to source the files.
- We noticed that there were a lot of Chinese people on our case, spying.We wondered what we have that they could possibly want.
- As we headed to the next place, the same gardai that had been spying on us on that street (Parnell or O'Connel) and as soon as our taxi came, they were gathered looking at the taxi number. It intimidated and angered me as I was exhaisted and had not had a break for a while.
LATER IN THE MONTH
- I find out that the Madlanga Commission is happening sinceearlier in the month, surprised by how far its progressed and what was ucovered
- I find out about Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala, whom my mom explained she had seen him when she was in Minnessota in 2023/24, while she was heading to file a report of an incident. She had seen him at the police station - or someone who looked a lot like him - talking to the police. She thought he might have been trying to stop her from filing that report.
- Recenlty, I was asked to find out if there is. aconnection between him and a gentleman that was staying over at out house in 45 Wilton with a woman named Natalie, claiming they had nowhere to go after John Dovey had refused to let them stay (he lived far down the road, though not Wilton). Natalie tried to help mom with accounts. Mom let her and the husband stay, but they slept in the car and could use the house and amenities and clothes as there was no rooms left. Mom also did not know them very well but I think they insisted on staying in the car. Anyway, my mom asks me to research David Matlala
- What I find is a LinkedIn page (assuming that it is his) and he is said to be the CEO of Tubatse Skill Development Training. I note the word Tubatse, because that's a place in Limpopo in Sekhukhune (where the mine dumps are). Just noteworthy, I suppose.
- I find out about Johann Niemoller, who was also very interested in the mines and had been found with stolen chrome in three trucks in 2016. My mom told me that he was one of the people who wanted to make a deal with her. She was heavily discouraged as he was a radical - anti-black type of individual. He headed a right-wing operation called Die Volk. And so, no deals took place with him.
NOTEWOTHRY THINGS I'M REALISING
- Phala Phala game farm - where millions of dollars in cash were found and stolen from under Ramaphosa's couch - is in Limpopo. I know it has a lot to do with the mines or cashed out funds. Reserve Bank covered this up
- Cyril Rmaphosa's name is coming up in the Madlanga Commission
- Matlalagrp.co.za, I find a company that is partnered with them. It's called ARUBA. They have their devices now in the Maldron Hotel, which were never there before. I saw these devices on the wal, wondering if they were for surveillance.