Midrand apartment fire: Law firms confirms litigation for some tenants against property group
Langa and Co Attorneys says it represents a majority of the fire victims — most of whom are allegedly South African citizens — and confirms that a case is still ongoing.
The fire-damaged Broadwalk Urban Village complex in Midrand on 25 September 2024. Picture: Kgomotso Modise/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - A legal team representing victims of the Broadwalk Urban Village fire in Midrand has refuted claims that displaced residents dropped their legal action over fears of arrest.
Langa and Co Attorneys says it represents a majority of the fire victims — most of whom are allegedly South African citizens — and confirms that a case is still ongoing.
In September, a fire broke out, claiming the life of a young mother and destroying 130 apartment units, leaving hundreds homeless.
After the destructive blaze, evacuated residents anxiously waited outside the charred building, hoping to salvage whatever remained of their belongings before being visited by three Joburg MMCs and the property owners.
ALSO READ: Midrand apartment fire victims abandon legal action as they're in SA illegally
Many who spoke to Eyewitness News revealed they were promised their deposit of R5,000 and relocation — a claim corroborated by the City of Joburg.
However, the managing director of a law firm representing South African victims affected by the fire, Thebe Langa, says claims by foreign residents living in the same building that victims were offered the deposit amount are false.
“The legal action is an ongoing process, we are born and bred in South Africa and the R5000? He (Dominic, an undocumented occupant of the complex) is talking for himself and those who he is representing who are undocumented, not everyone at Mafadi.”
Meanwhile, the City of Joburg says it is currently waiting for a report into the landlords and the fire.