Case against alleged Express Building arsonist postponed
Bonisiwe Gumede made a brief second appearance before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where the matter was postponed to Monday for a formal bail application.
Gumede faces charges of arson and two counts of murder.
She was arrested after witnesses told authorities that she started the fire at the hijacked Express Building after a heated argument with her boyfriend.
It's alleged the 30-year-old doused the door of the room she shared with her partner with petrol before setting it alight.
Sizwe Cele and his partner were reportedly sleeping in the room next door when the blaze killed them.
His uncle, Msongelo Mnisi, described the process of identifying his nephew's body as painful, as both victims were burnt beyond recognition.
DNA swabs were taken from one of Cele's siblings to confirm his identity before his remains were released to the family for burial.
READ MORE: Family of deadly CBD fire victim needs DNA to identify loved one
The court has barred media from publishing images of Gumede, as the state feared this could potentially jeopardise ongoing investigations.
The National Prosecuting Authority previously said it would oppose bail for Gumede should she choose to apply.
OWNERSHIP OF THE HIJACKED 44 NUGGET STREET BUILDING
During an oversight visit to the scene of the fire, Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda told the media that the building did not have an official owner.
However, court records show that around 2019, Nigerian national Tony Emmanuel Meme-Akpta and his wife approached the High Court in Johannesburg for an order to evict an estimated 200 illegal occupants from 44 Nugget Street.
The city was cited as the second respondent in the matter.
It stated the couple had bought the property for investment purposes in 2011. But in their application, the couple failed to explain why they had waited nearly a decade to try evicting the occupants.
The application was dismissed after the court found it procedurally flawed.
The city promised, in the aftermath of the fire that claimed more than 70 residents of the Usindiso building in Marshalltown, it would embark on a process of identifying the more than 180 so-called "bad buildings" around the metro, to rescue the inhabitants.
Gwamanda said of the 11 court cases to "evacuate" occupants in such properties, nine rulings were made in the city's favour, while the other two cases were still pending.
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