By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The judicial commission of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 76 people in a fire at the Usindiso building in the Johannesburg CBD in August continued on Friday.
In the early hours of 31 August, a raging blaze ripped through the overcrowded five-storey Usindiso building, which had been hijacked. The building was under the authority of the Johannesburg Property Company and was owned by the city.
The incident led to a debate on hijacked buildings in Joburg’s city centre, with many indicating the Marshalltown incident was due to poor service delivery and criminality. There were residents in the building who were paying unknown “landlords”.
The commission saw photographs which showed the internal and external structure and the non-compliance with fire and safety laws. The evidence presented was dealt with by evidence leader, advocate Ishmael Semenya.
The commission, appointed by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, is chaired by Justice Sisi Khampepe. She said the inquiry would be in two parts.
Part A would deal with the fire, its cause and who, if anyone, must be held accountable for the deaths and injuries. Part B would deal with the prevalence of buildings taken over by criminal syndicates or other groups and leased to tenants who cannot afford other housing without providing basic services.
On Friday, Crime scene investigator, warrant officer Goodman Mnguni took the stand as the seventh witness at the Inquiry.
Evidence leader Advocate Ishmael Semenya led Mnguni through the photo evidence, but not before warning that some of the images from the 800-page album were too graphic to flight.
“Some of the images are too grim for public viewing. I would propose that when we go through various images, we don’t include the most graphic of them.”
Mnguni explained the purpose of each photograph, including the one depicting dozens of bodies covered with blankets and silver foil lined up on the tarmac on Delvers Street.
“Photo one to eight depict the bodies while they are still covered with blankets and silver foils.
“[In photo image 51] before I uncover the blanket to take the photo of the deceased, I have to take the photograph as I found at the scene. It reveals a human body, and some parts of the body exposed.”
Semenya led the investigator through other images confirming that the building was cordoned off by authorities.
Mnguni corroborated evidence by acting Joburg EMS chief Rapulana Monageng and Fairview platoon commander Lucas Thipe, that highly flammable material was used to partition rooms while escape routes were barricaded and turned into living spaces.
Curtains and sheets hanging from the windows bore evidence of the state of panic, with Mnguni describing the method of escape as the “only route” out of the burning building.
“Because of the height of the building the occupants seem to have thrown the mattress on the ground so that they can jump on the mattress because they would get injured when they land on the floor,” he said.
Mnguni’s photo evidence also showed exposed illegal connections, some connected directly to transformers situated in the basement.
Multiple electric wires were dangerously spread across the five-story building before the tragic fire incident which claimed the lives of more than 70 people.
Watch Live Day 2 of the Usindiso Building Inquiry in the video below:
Video Courtesy of Gauteng Provincial Government.