IN PICS | Birthday celebrations turn to horror as shack fire kills four in Joburg

A shack fire at Kathrada Park informal settlement in Claremont, Johannesburg, in the early hours of Tuesday has left four families without their loved ones and several residents homeless.

A few hours earlier, the neighbourhood was filled with joy and laughter, as friends and neighbours gathered in an early birthday celebration for 28-year-old Lerato Motselekatse, who was killed in the fire.

Others who were killed in the blaze are 33-year-old Itumeleng Maghuwana, a man referred to as “DJ”, and another man who was described as a foreign national. Their families are now trying to come to terms with a tragedy that unfolded in a matter of minutes.

The group of friends spent the evening drinking and listening to music before heading back to their shacks.

Motselekatse had locked himself in his shack to prepare a meal for work the next day, when he allegedly fell asleep while his two-plate stove caught fire.

A survivor, Thabo Mekwa, told Sunday Times that Motselekatse came back from work around 4pm on Monday and bought beers for an early celebration of his birthday.

“I was off from work, sitting in my room watching a movie while my neighbours were having fun outside. Before bedtime, Motselekatse went out to grab a few more beers and then came back and went to his shack to prepare a meal for work,” he said.

A few minutes later, the neighbour said he heard screams coming from Motselekatse’s shack.

“I heard him screaming, calling for help and saying ‘I am burning.’ I quickly went outside to see what was going on, but I couldn’t rescue him. I kicked his door open, but didn’t want to take the risk because the fire was big and strong.”

He said the fire quickly spread to 11 other shacks, and all that remained were pieces of corrugated iron and what looked like the victims’ remains.

Mekwa shared a shack divided into four rooms with three other tenants who died in the fire. He is the sole survivor.

He said ‘DJ’ escaped the fire, but went back to fetch his laptop and didn’t come out again.

“We called him ‘DJ’ because that’s what he is known for. He is our music guy. I warned him not to go inside, but he kept on saying, ‘my laptop, I need to fetch my laptop.’ When he got inside, he got caught in the fire and didn’t make it out.”

Mekwa moved to Johannesburg in 2016 in search of work and to pay off a R60,000 debt he had accumulated while studying Human Resources Management at the University of Johannesburg.

He said he initially lived in Johannesburg’s inner city but moved to Kathrada Park last year because it was more affordable.

“I was paying R2,700 rent in Johannesburg and now I pay R500. That allowed me to pay off most of my debt. I only have R7,000 left before I can graduate,” he said.

“Two weeks ago, I was robbed and stabbed above my knee on my way home from work. I had to go back home to Lesotho to recover,” he said.

“Now, having experienced a robbery and something of this magnitude happening, it feels like death is after me,” he said.

He said he is in disbelief about what happened, especially as he is the only survivor.

“It’s like someone can pinch me and say this is all a dream. I am numb and left with no belongings to my name,” he said.

Motselekatse’s mother, Malerato, was numb and unable to find words about the tragedy.

She said she heard people screaming in the streets that the shacks were burning. By the time she reached the scene, firefighters had arrived and were battling the blaze.

“I don’t know what to make of this. Lerato was my only child,” she said.

For Maghuwana’s family, the loss is painful because he was on the verge of securing a permanent job.

His brother, Moeketsi Mohlomi, said Maghuwana came home from work on Monday and asked for his identification document because he was expected to sign a permanent employment contract the next day.

“My brother doesn’t have a fridge, so he kept his groceries at my house. He asked for meat to cook and his ID. That was the last time I spoke to him,” said Mohlomi.

He said he woke up to screams and the smell of smoke and quickly ran out with his wife and seven-year-old daughter because their shack had also caught alight.

“When we ran outside, my brother had already died in the fire.”

He said he doesn’t understand why he went back into the fire to try to save his friend (Motselekatse) when the fire was out of control.

“My neighbours told me that my brother had already escaped the fire. He basically survived, but he saw his friend was stuck, and when he tried to save him, they both didn’t come out,” he said.

Maghuwana moved to the area last year and leaves behind a six-month-old daughter.

“We are devastated as a family. One minute you’re happy, the next you are planning a funeral.”

Another survivor, Maserame Mohapi, 33, who lives with her daughter, said she ran out when she started smelling smoke.

“When I opened my eyes, I noticed that my shack was burning and quickly grabbed my daughter and ran outside,” she said.

“I couldn’t save anything. I was supposed to go job hunting this week, but my documents are all burnt. I’m back to square one with nowhere to go,” she said.

Mohapi, who is from Lesotho, also moved to Johannesburg last year in search of work.

She said renting a shack is more affordable, especially for someone who’s still job hunting.

“My entire family is in Lesotho, I don’t know where I’ll sleep tonight as I don’t have any relatives in Johannesburg.”

Community leader Moeniera Swartz said this was not the first time this has happened.

“Last year, 17 shacks down the road burnt down. It’s always the same issue,” she said.

“As you can see, people are overcrowded, and all of them are trying to make ends meet. This is a lovely community, but life forces them to live like this,” said Swartz.

She said each time this happens, government officials come with temporary solutions and food parcels. She said what the people need is to be taken to a safer place.