RESIDENTS from Khayelitsha in the SST informal settlement are still hunting for the man who started the fire that destroyed over 152 structures on Sunday, 29 October.
The fire claimed the lives of two people, a male and a female adult.
According to residents, the fire is suspected to have started from a shack of a 35-year-old man named Buja, who was allegedly drunk.
The residents last saw him on Saturday evening allegedly having booze at a local shebeen and later around 8pm, another resident said they allegedly saw him holding a bottle of beer in one hand and raw pork in the other.
"He was drinking and probably got hungry and decided to go and cook. The fire started from his shack. He was probably cooking and fell asleep. When he realised that the shack was on fire, he managed to escape and run away because he knows people are angry,” said resident Nokulunga Maseti (44).
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Since Monday, residents have been searching for Buja, with no luck of finding him.
Resident Nomthandazo Gogwana (31) expressed the stress the residents are facing.
"He was seen in Nkanini but people are not sure where exactly. We want him to explain what happened because he destroyed our lives. We worked very hard to buy our properties that went up in flames,” she said.
Community leader Nangamso Smawu (51) said the rules in their kasi are clear about someone starting a fire while drunk.
Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Jermaine Carelse said the firefighters were called to the scene on Sunday night. He said the devastating fire required the response of 12 firefighting resources and over 50 firefighters to contain.
Captain Nowonga Sukwana, spokesman for the Western Cape police, reported that an inquest case has been initiated and cops are investigating the incident.
"At this stage, we cannot speculate as to what caused the fire," Sukwana said.
