WHEN the family of a 26-year-old nyaope addict refused to give him money last Thursday, all hell broke loose.
The man was so angry with his relatives that he soaked their furniture with paraffin and struck a match!
Today, the young man is in prison – but his family is homeless.
His gogo, Sophy Khanyago (65) from Diepkloof in Soweto, said she and her family had been staying with neighbours since the incident.
She told Daily Sun she was in a shack attached to the house when the fire started and she only survived because neighbours managed to break down the structure to get her out.
“I would have died if it wasn’t for neighbours who heard me screaming for help,” she said.
“My grandson is a violent person but I never thought he would end up burning down the house,” she said.
Gogo Sophy said she lost everything and appealed to SunReaders for help. She said the damage was close to R80 000.
“I used an oxygen machine to breathe and it exploded because of the intense heat. We are happy my grandson was arrested. He used to harass us and he’s finally where he belongs.”
She said she hoped her grandson would be sent for rehabilitation so he could mend his ways.
“My grandson is a slave to nyaope and it has shattered us to see him wasting away.”
Police spokesman Captain Phephi Matlou said the suspect would be making a court
appearance soon.
