On 31 August 2023, South Africans woke up to the news of a deadly blaze in a hijacked building in Marshalltown. The death toll would rise to over 70, including 12 children. 😱 The tragedy, now dubbed the Usindiso Building Fire, was one of the deadliest fires ever in the COJ. Now, the Commission of Inquiry into the fire, led by Judge Sisi Khampepe, has handed in the first part of its report, finding the COJ and its entity, The Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), partly responsible for the tragedy, with its CEO Helen Botes called out in particular. Khampepe noted that city officials knew about the terrible state of the building and did nothing.
Resident Sithembiso Lawrence Mdlalose confessed to starting the fire to dispose of the body of someone he had murdered on the orders of a Tanzanian drug lord. He was arrested in January 2024 and is charged with 76 counts of murder, 86 counts of attempted murder and a charge of arson.
Another building resident, Omari Hanya, testified that firefighters arrived on the scene 45 minutes late. “When they got there, they did not even have water,” he said. EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said in December 2023 that out of the city’s 30 fire engines, only 15 are in working order. According to some reports, the real number of working fire engines could be even lower than that.
While this is only the first part of the commission’s findings, some of the recommendations so far include:
🔷 Demolishing the building,
🔷 Erecting a memorial plaque to honour the victims,
🔷 Disciplinary action for accounting officers of four city entities: JPC, City Power, Joburg Water and Pikitup.
The Commission resumes in July, and the final report is expected at the end of August.
Suffice it to say that heads need to roll, and the City of Johannesburg needs to be decisive about recapturing hijacked buildings and ensuring residents have access to decent housing and services.
