City of Joburg Emergency Management officials during a visit to the Jeppestown building gutted by fire on August 26, 2024 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is reported that the fire in the abandoned building left four people dead, three people injured and hundreds displaced. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo) 
As the first anniversary of the devastating Marshalltown fire approaches, survivors Sithembiso Ndebele and Vusi Shabalala shared their harrowing experiences and ongoing struggles with Daily Maverick. Despite promises of support, they remain homeless, traumatised, and disillusioned.
“Life has turned for the worse since the fire,” says Sithembiso Ndebele, a former resident of the Usindiso building. The unemployed mother of two has struggled to survive and hasn’t felt safe since that fateful day.
A view of the burnt building in Jeppestown on August 26 2024 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is reported that the fire in the abandoned building left four people dead, three people injured and hundreds displaced. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)
“I was one of the 30 Usindiso residents placed at Denver, but I had to leave after two break-ins at gunpoint in my shack,” she said. The criminals, aware that she sold various goods to support her children, demanded money. She said her youngest child, who suffers from hydrocephalus, was present during these terrifying incidents, which severely affected his condition.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Joburg’s heart of darkness
“He was making progress before the fire in terms of being able to walk and talk, and is now unable to walk and also lost his speech,” Ndebele said, adding that her son’s trauma was so deep that he sometimes screamed for help without reason.
Precarious conditions
She said doctors advised that her son needed to live in a proper house where he could thrive, not in the precarious conditions they currently endured. With this in mind, she approached the Human Settlements Department and the Johannesburg Department of Housing, hoping to be allocated a house based on the doctor’s recommendation.
She was promised a home at the Lufhereng mega-housing project in Soweto, but more than a month after signing for the house and almost a year later since the fire, there’s still no sign of the promised house. However, the housing system shows she was allocated a house.
Inside Sithembiso Ndebele's tiny shack in eMaXhoseni, an informal settlement just behind Usindiso building. (Photo: Michelle Banda)
“I have been checking progress every Monday, but the housing official who was assisting has been unavailable for weeks,” Ndebele said, expressing her frustration.
Coincidentally, the housing official (Lulama) who was helping secure the house called while Ndebele was having an interview with Daily Maverick.
On the call, Lulama told her they couldn’t get her on the phone, and the available houses had unfortunately been handed over to other people, and they would have to move her to the second phase of the Lufhereng project meant to end by December 2024.
Cramped space
Now back in eMaXhoseni, Ndebele shares a tiny shack with her children. The cramped space, measuring just 1.5 meters by 3 meters, contains only a single bed, a bar fridge, and a two-plate stove.
“Usindiso was much better; it felt like home. Here, there is no peace — constant noise, high crime, and an unsafe environment for children,” she said, highlighting her desperation. Ndebele pays R500 per month in rent and R100 per week for illegal electricity, all while struggling to make ends meet by doing laundry for others and selling beer.
Another survivor, Vusi Shabalala, finds solace in alcohol.
A view of the inside of the burnt building in Jeppestown. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo)
“I drink to forget everything that happened on the day of the fire. Life is better when I’m drunk,” he said.
With the anniversary approaching, Shabalala is reminded of the government’s neglect.
“We are just useless people to the government. They have done nothing for us. We are homeless, unemployed, and traumatised,” he said.
Shabalala also questions the City of Johannesburg’s plan to erect a tombstone for the victims on 1 September 2024.
“How can they erect a tombstone when survivors are still homeless? And where will they place it, given that the building is supposed to be demolished?” he asks, expressing his anger and disbelief.
According to Shabalala, the official death toll of 76 is an understatement.
“I don’t believe they recovered all the remains. More than 76 people died, especially on the ground level, where makeshift shacks housed many unaccounted-for individuals,” he claimed.
‘Unsafe for anyone’
Having lived in Johannesburg’s inner city for nearly 12 years after leaving his paternal home in Soweto, Shabalala said Usindiso had become his home until the fire destroyed everything. He now liove at eMaXhoseni where he says it is unsafe for anyone.
“Even with the Johannesburg Metro Police (JMPD) and security guards we are unsafe here at eMaxhoseni, people randomly come and fire gunshots out of nowhere. These bullets can easily penetrate our shacks, and there is no way to protect ourselves – whether male or female it’s the same.”
City of Joburg Emergency Management officials during a visit to the Jeppestown building gutted by fire on August 26 2024 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo)
Ndebele and Shabalala said there seemed to be tensions in Denver with the few people from Usindiso who had moved there slowly going back to town, particularly to eMaXhoseni, which is directly opposite Usindiso.
According to Ndebele only 29 Usindiso former residents – young girls and mothers – made it to the Denver shelter with the rest of the people from other places, including the people who were evicted from Remmington Court in November 2023 which in itself caused tensions with different personalities in an unfamiliar environment.
Shabalala said the majority of former Usindiso residents were coming back to eMaxhoseni, and others in the building themselves because they had nowhere else to go. He added that the homeless had also found refuge there.
Soon after the fire Usindiso was secured with barbed wire, a steel gate, and built-up walls that formed a barricade so no one could access the building as its structural integrity was compromised after the fire, with the Khampepe commission having recommended it be demolished.
As it stands the barbed wire and steel gates have been stripped and allegedly sold for cash by recyclers, who have now found refuge in the building. The walls have been penetrated and already there is another entrance at the back of the building. This is despite police and security visibility in the area.
Daily Maverick put the following questions to the City of Johannesburg:
- Denver Temporary Relocation Area (TRA): Could you please clarify when the TRA is set to expire? Additionally, will the City of Joburg’s Department of Human Settlements provide a more permanent relocation solution for the victims once the TRA period ends?
- Housing Allocation for Ms. Sithembiso Promise Ndebele: Ms. Ndebele, a survivor of the Usindiso/Marshalltown fire with a special needs son, was promised a house at the Lufhereng project, prioritized due to her son’s medical needs. She signed up for the house on 9 July 2024 and was told she would move in by 12 July 2024. However, an official named Lulama—whose exact affiliation is unclear—informed her that the available houses had been occupied, and she would be placed in the next phase of the project, expected to be completed by December. Ms. Ndebele reports that Lulama has been unreachable for weeks, yet the system shows she was allocated a house. Could you please provide any updates or comments on this situation?
- Allocation of Plots in Southgate: We understand that some victims are being allocated plots in Southgate. Can you clarify whether this is being managed by the City’s Housing Department or another entity?
The City of Johannesburg had not responded to Daily Maverick queries by the time of publication. DM