CoJ dismisses claims that condemned uSindiso building reoccupied
Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda said he was only aware of incidents of theft and vandalism.
FILE: The Usindiso building in Johannesburg following a deadly fire in August 2023. Picture: Jacques Nelles/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - The City of Joburg has dismissed allegations that people reoccupied the fire-ravaged uSindiso building where 77 people lost their lives last year.
Vagrants and sources at JMPD told Eyewitness News that people had reoccupied the condemned building, specifically over the festive period after a contract between the city and a private security company, tasked with safeguarding the Marshalltown building lapsed last year.
When Eyewitness News visited the scene on Tuesday, the building was secured, with JMPD officers present.
Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda said he was only aware of incidents of theft and vandalism.
"The fact of the matter is that we cannot isolate certain elements of opportunism that exist on a day-to-day basis."
He said that while JMPD officers were not security guards, they had been deployed to safeguard the building.
"We need them to be active, we need them to constantly conduct these raids and constantly go on site so that they can inform of any and all possibilities that might occur."