SASOLBURG – In the early hours of Sunday, tragedy unfolded in the Di-single Informal settlement near Sakubusha Secondary School in Sasolburg.
This comes after a devastating fire claimed the lives of two women aged 29 and 22 and a one-year-old toddler.
According to residents, a fire started around 2:00 AM where the trio was trapped inside and burnt to ashes by a raging inferno.
While families are left reeling, many believe the fire was started by a man who is accused of fighting with the group and allegedly threatening them.
Ster spoke to the family of Mamokete Makebe (29), one of the deceased mothers and her family detailed the harrowing condition she is left in.
With heavy hearts, as he told the story, Moses Makebe, brother to the deceased said they were awakened by a call summoning them to the scene where his sister drew her last breath.
“We went to the scene around 8:00 in the morning after we learned around 2:00 AM that she was involved in a shack fire. We were told they had a fight with some guy and he threatened them that they wouldn’t see the next day,” he said.
Moses said some of the people who were in the shack left to run an errand, leaving the three deceased in the shack.
On their way, they were met by smoke rising to the sky, before seeing raging flames guttering the correlated sheets.
“We are devastated by how my sister died, especially because she was a mother of four and her last born is only a year and a couple of months. We will not be able to give her children the love she would have given them,” he said.
Moses said they believe the police failed them for not doing their job.
“Police were called to the scene and they didn’t follow leads of who might have killed my sister. If they did their job, at least the man accused of making threats would be behind bars because this is his doing,” he said.
“All we want is to get justice, but we were clearly not going to get it since the suspected man left the area,” he said.
Moses said his sister had a planned life ahead of her.
Fezile Dabi district police spokesperson, Sergeant Josephine Rani has since confirmed the horrific incident.
“We can confirm that on Sunday, July 28 at about 00:20, the police attended a complaint of a burning shack. Two females, together with a 1-year-old child have died during the fire,” she said.
While the cause of the blaze remains a mystery, police have launched an inquest docket to uncover the circumstances leading to the tragic incident.
“Anyone who may have information regarding the incident must contact D/Sergeant Derick Sekgoto on 074 834 9239,” Sergeant Rani urged.
