- A fire swept through LR informal settlement in Makhaza early on Sunday, destroying seven shacks, killing two people, and leaving 15 residents homeless.
- The incident reportedly stemmed from a domestic dispute, with the girlfriend allegedly setting the fire after an argument with her partner.
- Police are investigating the cause of the fire and have registered an inquest.
Residents from LR informal settlement in Makhaza were devastated by the claiming of two lives by a fire that swept through the area in the early hours of Sunday 27 October, razing at least seven shacks, leaving at least 15 people homeless, as well as a spaza shop, and damaging three shacks.
It is alleged that the shack fire was started by a girlfriend who was fighting with her partner.
Ward 96 informal settlement chair Masixole Mtyhida described the incident as “horrible”.
“According to the boyfriend the incident began with an argument between the two,” he related.
“In a fit of jealous rage the girlfriend decided to burn his shack. Unfortunately the flames spread to other shacks and killed two people from different shacks.”
He said the girlfriend lit a fire in the shack a first time, but the boyfriend woke up and extinguished it before going back to sleep. Her second attempt, executed just outside the front door, led to seven shacks being destroyed. The boyfriend was lucky to escape unharmed.
Provincial police spokesperson Sgt Wesley Twigg said Khayelitsha officers registered an inquest for investigation after a fire had broken out at LR Block in Jaftha K Masemola Road, Khayelitsha on Sunday 27 October, about 01:20. “Officers attended the scene where two bodies were found burnt beyond recognition among the debris,” he said.
“The cause of the fire is yet to be determined and the circumstances are under investigation.”
