- A shack fire in Langa’s Brinton Street claimed the life of Andile Magazi (52) and left 20 people, including children, homeless.
- Andile’s mother, Thembisa Magazi, suspects a candle caused the fire, as Andile was without electricity.
- Ward 51 Councillor Lwazi Pakade labeled the fire an unfortunate incident, highlighting ongoing issues with backyard dwellings in Langa.
The Magazi family from Brinton Street in Langa is appealing to the community to assist them with whatever they have to offer to bury their son.
Andile Magazi (52) died in a shack fire on Saturday 16 November while he was sleeping in his shack. At least 11 shacks were affected and 20 people, including children, were left homeless.
At room No 22, five shacks were affected and eight people left stranded. At room No 24, four shacks caught fire and one person died while eight people were left homeless. While at room No 26 only two shacks were affected and only four people left homeless.
Thembisa Magazi, the deceased’s mother, said she suspected candle as the cause of the incident.
She said the shack started at four in the morning. “Andile had been without electricity for two days. His bulb was burned. So, he was using a candle to light his shack. I suspect it was the main cause of the shack fire because the fire started in his shack,” explained Magazi.
She said she woke up to the noise from the fire and it was too hot in the house. She said when she opened the back door to investigate she saw huge flames.
Magazi said all the tenants lost almost everything in the fire. She said all they want is to organise a decent funeral for her son.
“There is nothing tangible regarding the funeral arrangements for now because we are still waiting for the postmortem results before we can make any arrangements. We have nothing. I’d love to bury him in his home town at Nqamakhwe in Eastern Cape,” she explained.
Ward 51 councillor Lwazi Pakade described the incident as unfortunate. He said he informed both the City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre and Gift of the Givers about the incident.
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“Some of the backyards are foreign nationals. All the five shacks that were at room No 22 belonged to the foreign nationals. And the other tenants from other houses are locals,” explained Pakade.
He said the issue of backyarders in Langa is a thorn in the flesh.
Pakade said the last time the backyarders were relocated to the houses was in 2016.
Provincial police spokesperson Anelisiwe Manyana said Langa officers opened an inquest docket for investigation following a shack fire in Brinton Street, Langa on Saturday 16 November. She said according to reports, members were on duty when they received a complaint of a fire at the mentioned address and upon arrival they found one person dead between the debris and four shacks burnt down.
“The cause of the fire is yet to be determined and the circumstances are under investigation,” said Manyana.
