Two women appear in court for deaths of Laudium five kids

The charred bodies of the five children were found hugging each other in death after their shack went up in flames.

Shacks destroyed by a fire are seen during a visit by Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development Lebogang Maile at Itireleng Informal Settlement near Laudium, Pretoria, 28 August 2023. The fire destroyed multiple shacks and claimed the lives of five young children. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen

Two women from the Itireleng informal settlement near Laudium allegedly responsible for the deaths of five children in a shack fire are facing five counts of culpable homicide.

Lindiwe Machaka, 39, and Zanele Machaka, 37, appeared at the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

The charred bodies of the five children, aged one, two, four, five and six, were found hugging each other in death after the shack they were left in at Itireleng informal settlement went up in flames on Sunday.

Bail

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the women have been remanded in custody.

Zanele is a mother to three of the children. It is alleged that on the evening of 27 August 2023, the two women locked five children inside their shack, and went to a nearby tavern.

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“It is alleged that, while the two were still out, the shack caught fire and all the children burnt and died on the scene. The two women were arrested at the tavern the same day and are remanded in custody.”

Mahanjana said the matter was remanded to 05 September 2023, for a formal bail application.

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Distraught

Meanwhile, the paternal grandmother of the five children who died in a shack fire has been left angry and heartbroken by their deaths.

Speaking to The Citizen, Johanna Maswanganye said she is devastated by her grandchildren’s death.

“My heart is sore, I don’t know what to do, only God knows. The law must be harsh on the parents.”

Maswanganye claimed it was not the first time the women locked the children in the shack unattended.

“The parents always left the children with the father of one of the children to go have fun. The police found them in the tavern.”

Visiting the area on Monday, Gauteng Human Settlements MEC Lebogang Maile said the growing number of informal settlements across the province was a result of land invasions.

ALSO READ: Five children die in fire at informal settlement near Laudium in Tshwane