Marshalltown fire justice campaign embarked on a protest march on Friday 26 April over decent and affordable housing of the people of Johannesburg. Many of those in the protest found themselves displaced after their flats were engalved in flames. @dailysunsa pic.twitter.com/LkLQb5bmce
— Zandile Ethel Khumalo (@Ethel_Khumalo) April 26, 2024
MARSHALLTOWN fire victims have had enough and will march to the Gauteng premier's office on Friday, 26 April, over the dire state of living conditions.
It's been over six months since the victims of the fire in the Joburg CBD were moved to temporary shelters. They were moved to an area in Denver where the city built over 100 one-roomed corrugated iron structures for them to temporarily live in.
But the city has been mum on the long-term solution for the victims.
Daily Sun has visited Denver regularly where residents revealed how they were subjected to poor living conditions and that government has thrown them to the wolves.
We live in hell
One of the residents, Thobile Bhengu said the houses they were promised are yet to be delivered. She said children have been subjected to bad conditions with some not attending school. Others have finished school but are stuck in Denver with nothing to do.
“I don’t know why they treat blacks like this. They're the same people who come to us for votes. How do we vote when we've been cast out like this? We're in hell here with our kids ducking bullets,” she said.
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Another resident, Mbali Khumalo told Daily Sun they don’t have clean water and that sanitation and clean toilets are major issues. She complained about how the government has taken them from the streets and thrown them into rubbish.
“As we live here, we're not safe. It’s like we're animals. It's painful,” said Mbali.
Today we march
As a result of the long wait for proper housing, an activist representing the fire victims said the residents will march to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's office to handover a memorandum of demands.
Speaking to Daily Sun ahead of the protest, Spethokwakhe Zungu of the Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign said the city has been mum about the solution.
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“Living conditions in Denver are not suitable for any human to live in. These are temporary accommodation, but no one says anything about when we'll be moving. We thought it was going to be only six months, but we have no answer.
“It's been far too long now. We're not seeing any action or solutions,” said Zungu.
Tragic fire in 2023
On 30 August 2023 a deadly fire engulfed Usindiso Building, killing77 people, injuring 60 more and leaving many homeless.
The Usindiso Building was once a shelter for abused women and children but was later abandoned by the ministries only for it to be hijacked to house over 100 shelters inside.
