City of Joburg to blame for Usindiso tragedy that saw 76 die, inquiry finds

The almost eight-month inquiry into the devastating Usindiso building fire that led to the deaths of 76 people has led to commission chairperson judge Sisi Khampepe finding that the City of Johannesburg is liable for the tragedy and that the Joburg Property Company must be called to account. 

It was initially believed 77 people had died in the blaze but the death toll was later revised.

The Khampepe inquiry’s final report into last August’s fire that was followed by several similar incidents in hijacked and abandoned buildings around the city was handed over to Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi on Sunday. 

A memorial plaque listing the names identified victims, ongoing psychosocial support for survivors, the full and complete demolition of the Usindiso building and an investigation into every municipal entity at fault. These were the recommendations flowing from the commission of inquiry into the Usindiso fire — a tragedy with multiple aggravating factors.

Speaking at the handover on Sunday, Lesufi said he was impressed by the scale and quality of the work done by the commission, felt vindicated for establishing it and was committed to accepting the recommendations entirely and “will not be changing even one word or one comma”. 

“People were critical and sceptical from the start, in this country that is commission-fatigued. They said nothing will happen after it, and it is just a waste of money,” Lesufi said. 

“But we cannot have 76 people die and say ‘let’s just move on’. Now we have a complete understanding of what happened, families can be given closure and we have a plan to hold people to account and fix things going forward.” 

Khampepe on Sunday gave the history of the building, an overview of the evidence led during the Usindiso hearings and final recommendations.

She said the building had been erected in 1954 by the Johannesburg municipality as the pass office for natives, and went on to be managed by the Joburg Property Company Ltd (JPC). It was later taken over by Usindiso Ministries and for 10 years was used as a shelter for abused women before it was abandoned in 2017.

The commission found that none of the proper processes were followed at the time to have the building properly converted to a residential building, with no land conversion having ever been undertaken. 

“Then some people forcibly entered the building and they were later forcibly removed. In early 2019 the City of Joburg, Home Affairs and the police raided the building and found the distressing living conditions in the building that contributed to the devastation of the fire,” Khampepe said. 

Among these were: firefighting equipment being used to bring drinking water into the building, illegal electricity connections that were uncovered, shacks erected inside the building, evacuation features blocked by living spaces, chains and locks securing emergency doors to protect the residents and their possessions from outsiders and the entire building was “crime infested”. 

Despite this, she said the City of Joburg and the JPC never repaired or managed the building, despite being aware of the situation since 2019. Evidence of the contravention of city bylaws including things like fire doors being welded shut, illegal water and electricity connections, mounting uncollected waste inside and around the building and the flouting of all emergency regulations had gone unaddressed. 

“The City of Joburg failed to prevent or eliminate any of these hazards, they allowed the violation of public health bylaws, building regulations and all the other steps that would have mitigated the impact of the fire had they been compliant,” Khampepe said.

The cause of the fire was identified as arson after witness Sthembiso Mdlalose confessed to having strangled a man in the building and then bought some petrol, doused the corpse and set fire to it in an effort to conceal evidence of the murder. 

However, the poor state of the building led to the conflagration that destroyed the entire building — a tragedy in which 76 people burnt to death and another 85 were injured. 

Lesufi said he had already alerted Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda on the contents of the report, which would be formally delivered to the City of Joburg on Monday morning. 

The recommendations will see the MMCs of human settlements and public safety sanctioned for the disaster, and the JPC, Joburg Water, City Power and Pikitup all held to account for their roles. 

Part two of the report, which will deal with the way forward and the timelines that must be adhered to, will be released on May 13.

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