Hawks to lead probe into Botha Sigcau building fire

The Hawks are now investigating the cause of the fire that gutted the historic Botha Sigcau building in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.

It's been nearly two days since the fire destroyed the 11-story building, which was once the headquarters for the Transkai government.

The building, named after the late Amapondo king, is a heritage site and houses nine government departments.

The directorate for priority crimes investigation in the province has confirmed it’s now been roped in to investigate the Botha Sigcau building fire.

“The only thing we can confirm is that we’ve taken over the investigation as part of our mandate - therefore, we are investigating the fire that has burnt the building at Mthatha," said spokesperson Ndiphile Mhlakuvana.

He said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

“At the moment, we are not really sure. We are not certain as to what caused the fire; therefore the speculations that are going around on social media - we’ve not yet attached charges to the actual inquiry that we are doing.”

Mhlakuvana said experienced investigators are working on the case

Meanwhile, firefighters remain on scene to deal with any flare-ups.

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