Lest we forget: lessons unlearned, actions undone one year after the deadly Marshalltown fire

As conflicting narratives have emerged about the cause of the fire that claimed 76 lives at the Usindiso building, uncertainty lingers, leaving survivors trapped in a nightmare with no clear answers. Despite the initial testimony from a man who claimed responsibility for starting the fire — only to later retract his statement — the truth remains elusive.

Sihle Dube, a former Usindiso resident and survivor of the fire, told Daily Maverick that: “Being in Usindiso brings some unpleasant memories. When I am there I constantly think about what happened that day, and that night it’s painful. But I do think it is the right thing to do a candlelight vigil for the 76 lives lost. Maybe it will bring closure and healing to some of us because we have to admit what happened and move on.”  

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Dube said he still feels some pains in his chest and back, and his left hand is not really functional. This stems from the day of the fire. The 48-year-old father of five, who works as a clerk at a logistics company, suffered smoke inhalation, three fractured ribs, and back injuries from a fall after the Usindiso building in the inner city caught fire on 31 August 2023.

The Genesis

Initially, the Usindiso building, located on 80 Albert Street, was the central pass office building. In 2003, despite not being zoned for residential use it was leased to Usindiso Ministries Women’s Shelter, a haven for abused women and children managed by Pastor J Bradley. The NGO was funded and monitored by the Gauteng provincial Department of Social Development during the term of the lease of nine years and 11 months, which was never renewed and saw a shift in purpose that probably contributed to the devastating outcome.

Grieving relatives of deceased Marshalltown fire victims near the burnt-out building in Johannesburg on 31 August 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

In 2018, an audit inspection by the Department of Social Services recommended that the city-owned building at 80 Albert Street in Marshalltown should be closed because it was uninhabitable. Instead, the building fell victim to hijacking between 2019 and 2020 almost around the same time Covid-19 was first identified globally. 

The first people making their way into occupying the building were residents of eMaXhoseni, a well established informal settlement directly opposite at the back of Usindiso, and later many others from elsewhere drawn to the place by low rent with the target being vulnerable foreign nationals, the commission of inquiry heard.

Survivors’ realities 

Of the 30 Usindiso fire survivors who moved to Denver fewer than 20 are reported to be still living in Denver temporary accommodation after they were hastily relocated by city officials, including the police, from the Hofland Park Recreation Centre in Bez Valley in November 2023. On an ongoing basis, they have reported they are not happy in Denver due to many factors from shacks being unsafe and prone to flooding during the rainy season, to issues of neglect and safety concerns. As a result, this has seen some of the survivors move back into the City, some in similar conditions at eMaXhoseni and others allegedly back in Usindiso.

Abour 80 children who survived the Usindiso building fire on 31 August last year are still not attending school. These children, now living in temporary accommodation in Denver, Johannesburg, and other parts of the inner city, face multiple challenges, including a lack of resources and missing documents needed for school enrollment. Some have yet to be placed in schools, while others have been assigned to schools far from their current residences.

Khampepe inquiry and court proceedings

Three months ago a commission of inquiry appointed by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi led by retired Justice Sisi Khampepe was tasked with determining the cause of the fire, and was responsible for releasing a report at the end of April after about seven months of hearings. It found the City and its entities were to blame for the fire.

Thembekile Graham, the secretariat of the commission, clarified that the commission’s work was not dependent on the City’s response to the report. She said the commission was progressing with the second part of its terms of reference, with cooperation and active assistance from the City, which continues to participate in proceedings and inspections in loco.

Emergency personnel transport a survivor from the Marshalltown building that was engulfed in flames in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

“The commission has received lists of hijacked or abandoned buildings from various sources, including SERI, ICF, Wize 4 Afrika, and the City. Inspections are under way, providing insights into living conditions, access to basic services, and ownership. The commission aims to complete these inspections by the end of September 2024, after which it will formally record evidence and hear testimony. The commission’s work must be completed by 31 December 2024, with the final report due to the Premier by 31 January 2025.”

Graham emphasised that while the Usindiso tragedy was unfortunate, it had highlighted the need to address the issue of hijacked buildings in Johannesburg’s Region F. 

Recommendations

“The commission hopes its findings and recommendations will help remedy the situation.” However, Graham noted that the commission’s work was confined to its terms of reference and it could not compel the City to act on its recommendations. The commission operates under the Provincial Commissions Act and will take the necessary measures to obtain information when not readily provided.

The court case involving self-confessed arsonist Sithembiso Mdlalose continues at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on 5 September 2024. This after multiple delays that came about as a result of Mdlalose retracting his initial confession that he had started the fire that claimed the many lives in Usindiso to conceal a murder he had committed in the building, and having to dump his no-show lawyer Dumisani Mabunda after Mabunda failed to attend court several times. 

His new legal representative is expected to present new evidence before the court in the upcoming appearance.

Where to from now and the latest update: class action against the City

At least 17 bodies still lie at the morgue in Diepsloot. The Marshalltown Justice Campaign is calling for compensation and justice for the Marshalltown victims and is to launch a class action against the City, they will also be hosting a night vigil on Saturday 31 August 2024 starting at 3pm.

Campaign coordinator Mmametlwe Sebei said; “Basically we refuse to let go of the impunity that has characterised the response of the state towards the Usindiso Tragedy. A total of 76 people died. We say poor black lives matter. And the idea that there is not going to be accountability or justice. For us where the Khampepe Inquiry said there is legal responsibility there must be legal liability. So we have taken the decision that collectively we will take legal and political action to ensure that there is full compensation and justice served. For us justice is addressing the underlying issues that caused the tragedy. We should all be troubled that exactly a year later there have been many disasters.” 

A mourner lights a candle and lays flowers at the the scene of the deadly 31 August Marshalltown fire in Johannesburg. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

Sebei added: “The loss of life at Jeppestown is deplorable. We are saddened and shocked more than that we are outraged because the Khampepe Commission has lamented the responsibilities of the government and of course the second part of the commmission dealing with the issue of hijacked buildings and the housing crisis, but let’s face it we don’t need another commission to tell us what needs to be done with the Gauteng housing crisis. Even before Usindiso itself several organisations forming part of the campaign have done research on the matters, and said utilise these building blocks and repurposed them and ensure they are in good condition. 

‘Illegal connections’

“Today we are told this tragedy was because of illegal connections. The reality is there is high homelessness in Johannesburg and those people are going to have to live somewhere. If they are not being provided with decent accommodation and decent public houses they are going to be forced into the so-called abandoned and or hijacked buildings. As we are talking, Usindiso has been reoccupied.”

Tanzanian national and former Usindiso resident Peter Mbwambo recalls the terrifying night: “I was woken up by people shouting, ‘Fire, fire, fire!’ When I tried to break my room door the door was locked because when my wife left to buy bread, she locked it. As soon as I broke the door, I saw someone engulfed in flames. That shocked me. I went back to my room and grabbed a small bag with some clothes. I was terrified that the person on fire would come to me, and I would also catch fire. Hearing his cries, I thought he was Malawian. I don’t know if he survived.”

Mbwambo said he managed to escape through the back of the building, surrounded by thick smoke. 

“Before I got out, I saw fire, people exiting, and others jumping out of the building. People were screaming: ‘We are dying; please open for us.’ I found my wife crying outside because she thought I was the man she had seen on fire when she returned.”

Mbwambo lost his possessions including his passport, clothes, and money in the blaze. He and his wife shared a room at the Usindiso building. He said he moved to the Usindiso building in 2019 because the rental “was low”.

Siphiwe “Van Wyk” Ngcobo, a mother of two, recalls the heartbreaking moment she learned of the passing of her two-year-old son, Bandile. 

Already dead

Ngcobo shared how, despite desperate attempts to enter the building and rescue her children as the fire broke out — even pleading for help from Emergency Services — she was unable to reach them. Her brother, however, braved the flames and smoke, managing to bring the boy out of the building. Tragically, Bandile had already died. 

“He placed him on the ground. They tried to give him CPR, hoping he would be okay, but then I saw them removing his clothes, and they told me he was dead,” Ngcobo recounted.

Ngcobo’s husband and daughter, who were also in the building at the time of the fire, survived.

The fire spotlighted a long-standing housing crisis that has resulted in the rise of occupation of abandoned or hijacked buildings in Johannesburg’s dilapidated buildings by the most vulnerable populations, and a lack of accountability and care by the government. In the aftermath of the Usindiso fire which President Cyril Ramaphosa deemed a “great tragedy”, the City of Johannesburg was quick to blame NGOs and foreign nationals for the devastating blaze.

However, a study by a coalition of NGOs and activists – the Johannesburg Fire Response Action Group – revealed that the majority of occupiers of the building were South Africans. Detailed data from the coalition showed that among the 501 survivors, there were 264 South Africans – 103 women, 89 men, 58 children, and 14 people of unknown gender. Other nationalities included 113 Malawians, 93 Tanzanians, three Kenyans, three Mozambicans, one from Eswatini, five from Lesotho, and 19 Zimbabweans. The 501 survivors, according to the data, are people from about 245 households and included children as young as three weeks old.

City response

Daily Maverick sent the following queries to the City of Johannesburg:

1. What specific actions has the City taken in response to the findings of the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry?


2. Has the City implemented any safety measures or policy changes to prevent a similar tragedy, given the recent Jeppestown fire that claimed the lives of four people?


3. What progress has been made in addressing the conditions of abandoned and hijacked buildings since the report?


4. When can the public expect a formal response from the City regarding the commission’s recommendations?


5. How is the City planning to commemorate the first anniversary of the Usindiso fire?

City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane answered: “The City of Johannesburg appreciates your interest in the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry report. We are currently undergoing an internal review of the report and are not in a position to provide specific responses to queries at this time. We would like to confirm that the executive mayor was briefed on the report on 28 August 2024, and a further briefing by the City’s legal team is scheduled to take place next week to ensure the mayor is adequately prepared to address the matter.

 “As per standard procedure, the report was initially submitted to the previous mayor, and certain aspects we accepted while others required some clarity, hence we are now repeating the process with the current executive mayor to ensure alignment with the previous position. In principle, the City does acknowledge some of the operational gaps identified in the report but needs to address some administrative gaps in the report. Additionally, we are finalising a comprehensive strategy to address the issue of hijacked and problematic buildings in the Inner City. We will provide further updates as more information becomes available.”

Lessons unlearned and actions undone

According to Andrew “Andy” Chinnah, an activist who has been closely helping the Marshalltown survivors pick up their lives from the fire incident, there has been a lack of psychosocial support for the victims.

“Most of the fire victims are still traumatised. How do they even begin to build their lives when they still feel hopeless? From a lessons learned perspective the authorities need to look at providing psychosocial support. But this shouldn’t be just a tick-box exercise, this needs to be looked at holistically to see what they need to get back on their feet, employment, and skills development to sustain and have a form income for survival.”DM