However, it was later extended to three days as the forensic team was not finished by Friday. According to the municipality’s spokesperson, Steve Mavunda, employees attached to the affected building did not report for duty while the investigation was underway. Mavunda said the fire broke out in the kitchen and then spread to a nearby toilet before it was contained by firefighters.

“Although both the kitchen and the toilet were completely gutted, other areas were not affected; we haven’t lost a single document from this incident. Everything is still intact,” he said. It is not clear what exactly happened in the kitchen when it caught fire, as there are allegations that it was locked at the time the fire broke out.

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“When asked about this, Mavunda refused to comment saying an investigation would determine what caused the fire. “I don’t want to speculate about what happened. I would rather leave that to the investigation. I’m sure whatever caused that fire will be revealed,” he said. Meanwhile, the newly constructed municipal building was not affected at all.

Had it been affected; it could have caused a major setback for the municipality since the building took years to construct at millions of rands. Although construction has not been fully completed, the municipality is currently using it.