As motorists travelling along London Road had to reroute, due to protests that saw the road blocked with burning tires, a house along the road also caught on fire.

Residents said that a Malawian national, living with her partner in a shack along London Road between 5th and 6th Avenue, was cooking and left a makeshift fire stove unattended to go to the store when the house caught fire.

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Residents said they had to find a way into the house, fearing the fire would spread to nearby homes. They managed to put it out before adjacent houses suffered extensive damage. One of the houses was affected, though not as badly as the main house where the fire started.

The Malawian national said she lost almost everything, including food, furniture, and clothes.

The woman reportedly also lost money during the incident. While she initially alleged that the money, estimated at R1 500, was stolen, she later told residents, who felt accused of theft, that the money had also burned, along with the other items.

The woman could not speak any South African language fluently, with Alex News having to rely on residents’ accounts to ascertain what happened. All the residents refused to be identified, mainly because they were also staging the protest not far from the house.

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Boxes, wood, and other materials were burned to block London Road, forcing motorists to use alternative routes.

At the heart of the protest, according to residents, was an electricity outage in the area. They said they had to take to the streets to air their grievances after going for some time without electricity.

There were no law enforcement officials visible on site, despite the Gauteng Provincial Joint Operations Committee having said they were informed of the protest.

UPDATE:

City Power apologises for the inconvenience caused by an unplanned power disruption affecting customers from 1st to 8th Avenue in Alexandra between Roosevelt Street and London Road.

The utility said the unplanned power disruption in the area was caused by multiple cable faults and was reported on December 9.

But because of the inclement weather conditions, the repairs were halted on December 10 as the utility’s team had to drain water from the trench.

“Repairs are underway, and the estimated time of restoration will be communicated once the Metering Services team has conducted the meter audits,” the utility noted.

The utility confirmed its awareness of the protests in the area, noting that they pose a significant danger to its resources.

It said law enforcement agencies have been requested to disperse the protesters.

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