Usindiso fire inquiry hears how the building was turned into shacks

JOHANNESBURG - The commission of inquiry probing the Marshalltown building fire has heard how two people were involved in turning the block of flats into an informal settlement where shacks were erected.

A witness has told the panel of commissioners that he was approached by two men a few years ago asking that he join them to erect informal structures in the building.

The inquiry is hearing evidence on the prevalence of hijacked buildings in the inner city of Joburg after a five-storey building was gutted by fire last August, killing more than 70 people.

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A resident of the Usindiso building, Kenneth Dube, has told the commission that he moved into the place in 2019 before the property was turned into a hive for crime.

"There were two guys who [were] also invited, they’ve now passed away. They said let's be involved in this building of informal settlements so that we can gain something."

With teary eyes, he said things took a turn for the worse when drug dealers and criminals infiltrated the building.

"There was an open space, like a hall. That open space - that’s where they used to build those shacks or the informal settlement inside the building."

Last week a 30-year-old man confessed during proceedings that he was involved in setting the Usindiso building on fire.