Alleged Usindiso building fire arsonist claims he was threatened by drug lord to confess

JOHANNESBURG - The man who previously confessed to torching the Usindiso building fire claims he was threatened by a drug lord to own up to the crime.

Sthembiso Mdlalose confessed twice to setting the hijacked block of flats alight.

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He also claims he was high on drugs when he admitted to starting the blaze and wants the confession declared inadmissible in court.

Mdlalose is standing trial at the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court for his alleged involvement in the fire that killed 76 people in 2023.

In 2024, Mdlalose testified in the Usindiso building fire inquiry that he had been selling drugs on behalf of a Tanzanian drug lord, who also lived in the hijacked building.

However, his original confession did not mention that the same drug lord had allegedly threatened him into falsely admitting responsibility for starting the fire.

His legal team argues that the confession should be dismissed, claiming it was not made freely or voluntarily.

But State witness and lead investigator Andile Manganye doesn’t buy the claim that Mdlalose was forced into claiming responsibility for the fire.

"Out of his free will at the commission of inquiry, he told what he termed the actual truth."

Mdlalose has pleaded not guilty to all charges of arson, murder, and attempted murder.