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Families of 2023 Usindiso fire victims still waiting for bodies to be released

Families of 2023 Usindiso fire victims still waiting for bodies to be released
Bodies lined up in the Johannesburg CBD after the Usindiso fire tragedy on 31 August 2023. (Felix Dlangamandla)
Michelle Banda
By Michelle Banda
16 Jul 2024
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Almost a year after 76 people died in the Marshalltown fire, the bodies of a mother and daughter are still in the morgue. The family want to bury their loved ones, but officials say they are still establishing a DNA link.

Almost 12 months after Johannesburg’s deadly Marshalltown fire, the Phafoli family is struggling to have the bodies of their loved ones who died in the 31 August blaze released – 50-year-old Tlalane Buthelezi and her daughter, 14-year-old Banele.

According to the family, the authorities have asked for more time to establish a DNA link between the mother and daughter before they release the bodies for burial.

“I don’t understand, how much more time do the authorities need? It will be a year at the end of August,” said Thabile Phafoli, Tlalane Buthelezi’s nephew.

He said the family had undergone three rounds of DNA testing to identify the bodies, but had not received any results.

As of 30 April 2024, of the 76 people who died in the Usindiso building, 57 had been positively identified and 19 had not. 

Phafoli said his family had made multiple trips from Maseru, Lesotho, to Johannesburg for answers and, hopefully, the remains of their loved ones.

“It all began on the day we got to the scene of the fire on the 2nd of September 2023. We were told it would be helpful if there was anything that could be used to identify the deceased. My mother, Tlalane’s biological sister, had to provide samples for DNA which we left at the morgue.

“We thought the deceased would be identified in no time and their remains released to the family so we [could] give them a proper and dignified send-off. But that was followed by a horrible journey, emotionally and financially taxing, travelling back and forth to get information on what was causing the delay.

“Despite my grandmother [Tlalane’s mother] having given more DNA samples in February 2024, we have not received any outcome of any of the tests done. The latest information at our disposal is that the authorities said we should give them time as they still need to connect the mother and daughter before their bodies can be released to the family.”

Phafoli said that had they been allowed to consult independent pathologists, they would have done so.

usindiso fire bodies Bodies lined up in the Johannesburg CBD after the Usindiso fire tragedy on 31 August 2023. (Felix Dlangamandla)


‘No accountability’


The family the poor communication and lack of accountability from the authorities was frustrating, accusing the chief investigator of being unresponsive and providing updates only when pressured to do so.

Matsupa Phafoli, Tlalane’s sister, said: “Three weeks ago, I identified Tlalane’s body at the morgue, together with my niece Banele. This is despite the fact that, initially, they had said the child was never in their facilities, only for us to go to the mortuary and see her from the pictures and among the bodies there.

“After the fire, we saw only 20 pictures, excluding those of Tlalane and Banele. The pictures we saw recently were new to us. And no one is taking accountability. We don’t even know what happened to the DNA samples we have already provided.

“The chief investigator in the matter is preoccupied lately and unresponsive. They only get back to us when we are in their face. We are not impressed as a family … in all of this, we have to move around with our mother who is old and fragile.

“All she wants is to bury her children at home.”

Human rights activist Andrew Chinnah, who has worked closely with those affected by the Usindiso fire, asked whether there was a problem with the DNA processing system or if it was simply a lack of will on the part of the government.

“There is something wrong with this process, and not only the DNA backlog. There is no willingness from those who have the power to enforce changes.

“Many of these departments that can assist in the matter appeared before the [Khampepe] commission. They claim to be actively involved in the process, but in reality, they are not helping families. We are paying people in government to be ghosts – they are physically there but are not doing anything.”

DNA questions remain


Gauteng Department of Health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba told Daily Maverick that in the case of the mother and daughter, there was still no positive DNA sample linking the two.

Modiba said further investigations have been initiated to acquire convincing evidence.

“One body is without dispute, which is the mother, and can be removed at any time, but the question remains about the daughter.”

He said the Gauteng Forensic Pathology Services had no “backlog” in terms of the Usindiso victims.

While 19 bodies from the Marshalltown fire still lie at the Diepkloof morgue in Soweto, Modiba said only four families of the deceased have not received confirmation of positive DNA results.

“Two other families, including the above-mentioned, had a retake of DNA recently due to the lack of convincing evidence (statistically or scientifically) to confirm that they are related to the deceased. All other bodies, possibly, did not have their families coming forward looking for them, hence there were no DNA donors,” he said.

Read more: Young survivors of Usindiso fire still unplaced in schools — despite government commitments

Remembering the victims


Tlalane was described by her family as an “amazing human being” who ended up living at the Usindiso building when it was a women’s shelter.

Her nephew said she was considered a pioneer for travelling from Maseru to Johannesburg in the dying days of apartheid.

“She would travel month-to-month making a living through these trips and entrepreneurial activities. When my mother had me and was meant to leave for university, she stepped into the motherly role very well and sent me to the most prestigious schools. 

“Back home, she was part of an organisation called Mothers2Mothers, an international nonprofit organisation dedicated to preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing education and support for pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV.

“At the height of her career, she went abroad to represent the organisation, but in the long run, she chose love over her career. The man and relationship she was devoted to and gave up everything for had complications, resulting in her ending up in Usindiso – a place for people she used to help and protect and then she was one of them herself.”

He said Tlalane was a daughter of both Lesotho and South Africa. He described Banele as quiet but very intelligent. As a family, they looked forward to seeing the woman Banele would become as they had already seen Tlalane’s characteristics in her. DM

Daily Maverick will continue to publish tributes to people who lost their lives in the fire, as information comes to hand. Read our tribute to Melita Mhlebi here and Dancehall sensation DJ Snagga T here.

If you lost a loved one in the fire, and wish to pay tribute, contact [email protected] or [email protected]

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