NCEBA Nkomane was fast asleep when he was woken up by nature’s call.
And answering the call saved his life. His shack caught on fire on Wednesday night while he was relieving himself.
“My ancestors saved me. They made me run to the toilet so that I could escape death. I’m grateful,” said Nceba.
The 37-year-old from Siqalokutsha squatter camp in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, told Daily Sun he couldn’t resist nature’s call.
“I wanted to ignore it, but it persisted. I was in the toilet when I heard people calling my name, saying the house was on fire.”
Nceba said people thought he was inside the burning shack.
“They were relieved when I emerged from the toilet,” he said.
He said he was grateful to his ancestors because he’d have died if it wasn’t for the kak they sent to him in his sleep.
Residents struggled to stop the fire and more shacks were affected.
Mzwandile Rasmeni (55) said he left in the morning and was surprised to get a call that his shack caught on fire.
“I had gone to see my brother, who’s not well. I got a call that our shacks were burning. The first thing I asked about were my three dogs,” he said.
He said he found that everything had burnt down.
However, Mzwandile was happy his dogs didn’t die in the blaze and thanked the neighbours who opened the gate to let them out.
No one knows what started the fire and many suspect it was vutha.
Residents Mkhulekile Feketha said: “No fire runs like that. This was vutha.”
