The commission of inquiry responsible for shedding light on the causes and responsibilities in the fire of a building in downtown Johannesburg last August released the first part of its report on Sunday. 76 people died in this tragic incident, one of the deadliest fires in the country’s history.
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With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Josephine Kloeckner
According to the commission of inquiry, it was the failure of the City of Johannesburg in its obligation to maintain the building which led to a tragedy of such magnitude, August 31, 2023. The municipal building had been abandoned since 2017, and squatted at the time of the fire by dozens of families.
Read alsoSouth Africa: more than seventy victims in building fire in Johannesburg
According to the commission, the authorities were aware of this situation since at least 2019, but did nothing to remedy it. The building was damaged, littered with trash, and had never been converted into a residential building, even when it was used as a shelter for women victims of violence.
A time bomb, which will ultimately cost the lives of the 76 victims burned alive, including 12 children.
Concerning the cause of the fire, it is also sinister and attributed to a suspect who confessed a few months ago to having strangled a man and then setting fire to the corpse to cover up his crime.
The commission has called for the demolition of what remains of the building, and will submit the rest of its report in a week.