By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
An unidentified witness referred to as Mr X, dropped a bombshell on Tuesday, telling the Commission of Inquiry into the Usindiso building fire that he started the blaze that claimed more than 70 lives.
The commission was appointed to probe the possible causes of the fire that gutted the Usindiso building, leaving hundreds of people displaced.
Testifying voluntarily behind closed doors, Mr X claimed that he set the fire in an attempt to cover up a murder he had committed.
He said he then went to buy petrol and poured it over the body and threw a matchstick to ignite the flame before he fled the building.
The witness broke out in tears and told the panel of commissioners that he often prayed that God would punish him as his actions led to one of South Africa’s biggest tragedies.
The witness said that when he set the building on fire, he was high on crystal meth, which was supplied by a drug lord who he referred to as the “big boss” in the uSindiso building.
Human rights activist Andy Chinnah described Mr X’s testimony as shocking and incriminating. Chinnah emphasized the need to cross-examine the witness and called for further investigation into the rapid spread of the fire.
However, the inquiry’s evidence leader, Ishmael Semenya, stated that the evidence presented during the inquiry was deemed inadmissible.
Chinnah criticized the City of Joburg, asserting that they should take responsibility as the building owners. He expressed hope that the commission would hold the City accountable for the events that transpired.
The City of Johannesburg had a legislated problem buildings by-law, which allowed them to evict people in such buildings, but the challenge was finding alternative accommodation for those in condemned buildings, which by-law, was also the municipality’s responsibility.
There have been calls for the public and private sector to work together in addressing this problem. Additionally, hijacked buildings have been blamed for a significant portion of the over R10 billion unpaid electricity bills owed by Joburg residents to City Power.
Meanwhile the Gauteng government has granted the inquiry an extension.
“The conclusion of the hearing for Part A was extended to the end of March 2024 and the report is due [at the] end of April 2024. The conclusion of the hearing for Part B was extended to the end of July 2024 and the report is due at the end of August 2024.”
Elsewhere the case against the woman accused of starting the deadly fire in the Johannesburg CBD has been postponed to next week for further investigation.
Thirty-year-old Bonisiwe Gumede made her first appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
She faces two counts of murder and a charge of arson after she allegedly set one of the rooms alight following a domestic dispute on Sunday.
Two people were killed, four others were injured, and more than a hundred families were displaced.
“This matter is postponed for your address to be verified. You’re back to court number 20, and you shall remain in custody until then,” Magistrate Nishani Beharie told the accused.