Usindiso fire: Mdlalose maintains innocence as verdict is postponed

Usindiso fire: Mdlalose maintains innocence as verdict is postponed

Judgement in the murder trial of the man accused of starting the deadly fire at Usindiso Building, in Marshalltown, has been postponed to next month.

This is to allow the State to comply with court directives and to address concerns relating to certain postmortem findings that were previously raised by the court.

He appeared in the High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday, where the ruling was expected to be handed down by Judge Cassim Moosa.

Sithembiso Mdlalose faces 76 counts of murder after the blaze resulted in the deaths of 76 people at the hijacked building back in August 2023.

Some of the charges include 12 counts of attempted murder, arson, and defeating the ends of justice.

Mdlalose was arrested after confessing to starting the fire at the Usindiso building Commission of Inquiry in 2024.

He claimed to have choked a man in a ground-floor room and used petrol to burn the body to cover up the murder; the blaze later spread to other rooms.

However, during the trial, he changed his story, claiming that he was forced to confess by a drug lord.

Speaking to the media in court, Mdlalose maintained his innocence and said he can't wait for the matter to be finalised so that the victim's family can find closure.

"I have never dreamt of getting a guilty verdict or wearing a prison uniform. So if you have never dreamt it, you can never live it,"

"I have always dreamt of being outside. I know that I am an innocent man," he told reporters.