Usindiso building was run and controlled by drug dealers, inquiry told
This was revealed by a witness who lived in the hijacked building for nearly two years.
A cordoned off section of the Marshalltown building in the Johannesburg CBD after a fire killed 77 people and left at least 1,000 homeless. Picture: Jacques Nelles/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - The commission of inquiry into the Marshalltown fire has heard how the uSindiso building was run and controlled by drug dealers.
This was revealed by a witness who lived in the hijacked building for nearly two years.
This is the same man who admitted to setting the five-storey building on fire while allegedly trying to burn the body of someone he said he'd killed.
The commission has, however, ruled that evidence presented by witnesses in this inquiry was inadmissible and could not be used against them by any body investigating the fatal blaze.
ALSO READ: COJ dismisses claims that condemned uSindiso building reoccupied
The man who claims to be behind the uSindiso building fire said he worked for a drug dealer who was one of the people who collected rent from residents in the hijacked property.
He described the building as a hub for illegal activities and alleges that many people were tortured and murdered in the basement of the five-storey block of flats.
The witness also told the inquiry that he developed a relationship with the alleged drug lord to feed his addiction to crystal meth.
He claimed to have bought petrol and set a body alight on the fateful day, not thinking that more than 70 people would lose their lives due to his actions.
He broke down and told the commissioners he was haunted by the events that played out in his mind every single day.