POOR residents blame izinyoka for the flames that destroyed their homes and lives.
The huge fire which broke out in the early hours of Monday morning left more than 100 families from KwaMashu Men’s Hostel with no shelter, as well as clothes, food and uniforms.
This also resulted in children missing out on school since Monday.
The residents said nobody knows where and how the fire started. Even though the cause of the fire has not been established, they suspect izinyoka.
One of the residents Zini Shinga (44) told Daily Sun that she was woken by people screaming that there was fire.
“I woke my children and we carried my sick mother and ran outside. We were shocked to see so many shacks in flames,” she said.
Zini said people were running up and down trying to save their belongings while others were fetching water to try and put out the fire. She said they were lucky that nobody was injured or killed.
“The problem is that we don’t have legal electricity in our area and so we are forced to use the izinyoka. But they are very dangerous. Many people have lost their lives because of them,” Zini said.
She said her family was severely affected, adding that her four kids lost their school books and uniforms and her sick mother (70) lost her wheelchair.
Another resident, Mandla Zungu (41), said he lost everything in the fire. “We only managed to save our lives. Now I am rebuilding my shack,” he said.
Ward Councillor Bongumusa Zondo said he has contacted the municipality’s disaster management to help the people.
“I have also organised for the gogo to get a new wheelchair. The illegal connections have always been a problem, but we are working on the matter,” he said.
