VICTIMS of the Usindiso Building fire in Marshalltown which killed 77 people and displaced many in August 2023 have revealed how their lives changed drastically after the fire.
Speaking during the commission of inquiry into the fire, they said they've lost their businesses, which were their source of income and have been moved to worse conditions.
One of the survivors, Sfiso Ntshengase from KZN, who was placed at Wembley shelter in Turffontein, was a taxi driver before the fire.
But with the inquiry taking much of his time, he is no longer consistent at work and said he is currently unemployed. When he worked as a taxi driver, he had savings, but all that was lost since the fire as it was stolen when people returned to the building to get their personal belongings.
Sfiso argued that the absence of accommodation seems to be of no "urgency."
Lindokuhle Mtolo also from KZN, another victim living at Wembley shelter, had been living at the Usindiso Building since 2022.
Before the fire, he manned a food and braai tall in Doornfontein but has since lost all his tools and is now unemployed.
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Lindokuhle emphasised that the conditions they live under are tough and unbearable as they are housed metres away from a waste dump where the stench is unbearable.
Testimonies from witnesses revealed poor conditions, illegal connections to electricity and reliance on a common tap. But despite this, many have since fled back to the building.
Ward 124 Councillor, Mongameli Mnayameni confirmed this to Daily Sun after another building in the inner city was engulfed in flames on Sunday, January 21.
“(As) I speak to you now, the building has been invaded again. That building needs to be returned to either be used as a student accommodation or temporary accommodation for incidents like these (fire),” he said.
Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamada said he was aware of theft and vandalism and acknowledged opportunism. He urged JMPD to be active and conduct raids to inform about potential incidents, despite not being security officers.
