The Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign believes the police’s arrest of the suspect behind the deadly fire will assist further in the probe.

The August 2023 fire engulfed the Usindiso Building in the Johannesburg CBD, leaving 76 people dead and hundreds injured.

Gauteng police confirmed yesterday that they have arrested a suspect in connection with the fire.

The man (29) is facing charges of arson, 76 counts of murder and 120 counts of attempted murder.

SAPS spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi says the suspect is expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

“The man was arrested after he confessed at the Commission of Inquiry for being involved in starting the tragic fire,” says Nevhuhulwi.

He appeared before the commission, led by retired Judge Sisi Khampepe, as a witness and testified in camera, with the commission ordering that his identity not be revealed. However, he dropped a bombshell when he confessed to starting the blaze.

Unconfirmed media reports state that the suspect set alight the body of a man he had earlier killed, and that he was high on drugs at the time.

In a statement, the justice campaign said that in his testimony, the suspect claimed the killing was ordered by the building’s slumlord.

Co-ordinator of the justice campaign Mametlwe Sebei says the confession and arrest will hopefully assist the investigations into the determination of the causes of the fire.

“We want this person and those responsible to be held fully accountable for the cruelty of the murder they are trying to cover up and the tragic deaths of all the victims of the fire.”

He says the campaign demands a penalty to be meted out to the maximum permitted by law.