Alleged Usindiso building arsonists will no longer visit the scene
Thirty-year-old Sthembiso Mdlalose confessed to the national prosecuting authority last week that he started the fire that killed 76 people five months ago.
Burnt cooking equipment at the Marshalltown building in the Johannesburg CBD after a fire destroyed parts of it. Picture: Jacques Nelles/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - The lawyer representing the man allegedly behind the Usindiso building fire has confirmed to Eyewitness News that the accused will no longer visit the scene of the blaze on Thursday.
During his second court appearance on Thursday morning, the State requested investigating officers to accompany the accused to the scene to demonstrate and point out how he allegedly started the fire.
Thirty-year-old Sthembiso Mdlalose confessed to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) last week that he started the fire that killed 76 people five months ago.
Less than an hour after Mdlalose appeared in the Johannesburg Central Magistrates Court on Thursday, police vans were spotted near the Usindiso building.
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This was after the NPA requested the investigating officers take the accused to the scene of the fire to demonstrate how the massive inferno started.
However, Mdlalose’s legal representative Dumisani Mabunda said police didn't explain further their decision to stop his visit to what used to be his home since january 2022.
"The decision was made after the appearance. He was taken to the police station, and after further deliberations, the police decided not to take him for the pointing out," he said.
Meanwhile, metro police officers are stationed outside the building to prevent illegal occupations.