Usindiso fire: One year later, little justice for survivors

Usindiso fire: One year later, little justice for survivors

Saturday will mark a year since the deadly fire at the Usindiso building in Marshalltown.

Usindiso fire: One year later, little justice for survivors
Masechaba Sefularo / Jacaranda FM

The blaze in the Johannesburg CBD killed 77 people and left hundreds more without a roof over their heads. 


Earlier this year, the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry found that the City of Johannesburg was liable for not enforcing its by-laws.


It found that the living conditions at the Usindiso building contravened multiple by-laws and the city needed to deliver basic services to the residents of the building.


Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign spokesperson Mametlwe Sebei said that there had been little justice for the survivors.


"The despicable manner in which the ruling class treated the survivors is evident in the fact that lots of those survivors are at Lindela detention center waiting deportation, if not deported. 


"Many South Africans were forced to abandon the city to return to KZN and Eastern Cape because of lack of support. Those few who were lucky to be in alternative emergency accommodation. 


"Their lives have been nothing short of a disaster upon disaster because of floods in those areas, lack of support, and many other things.”


Sebei said they want the government to ensure that the abandoned buildings are refurbished. 


"We want all of those buildings to be refurbished and repurposed, but also developed to provide a decent accommodation. 


"We want emergency public housing program to address a disastrous housing crisis that has been growing and today is at 3.7 million housing units in housing backlog.


"That has left about 13% of the entire population without decent houses, access to electricity, water, sanitation and all the basic rights that everyone is entitled to if they have to realize a right to live in human dignity."


To date, no one has been convicted for the devastating fire that made international headlines.


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