Marshalltown fire survivors to launch class action against City of Johannesburg

At a meeting on 24 August, families of those who died in the Marshalltown fire, and survivors of the fire, decided to launch a class action suit against the City of Johannesburg. Photo: Kimberly Mutandiro/GroundUp

• Families of those who died, and survivors of the August 2023 fire in Marshalltown, have decided to launch a class action against the City of Johannesburg.
  
• This was decided at a meeting at the weekend organised by the Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign.
  
• The Commission of Inquiry into the fire found that the City must bear some responsibility for the fire in the Usindiso building in Albert Street.

Survivors of the Usindiso building fire of August 2023, and families of those who died, this weekend decided to launch a class action against the City of Johannesburg to demand compensation.

The fire that broke out in the five-storey building killed 76 people, and left many injured and homeless.

The Commission of Inquiry report into the cause of the fire, which was released in May, found the City liable for neglecting the Usindiso building, among 200 buildings in a similar state in inner city Johannesburg.

The decision to launch a class action was taken in a meeting in Johannesburg on 24 August attended by more than 50 survivors. The meeting was organised by the Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign.

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The Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign plans a candlelight vigil on 31 August at the old Usindiso building to mark a year since the tragedy.

The Usindiso building is believed to have housed more than 400 people at the time of the fire.

Some survivors at the meeting say they are now living under bridges or in the streets. Others have resorted to living in other abandoned buildings and in informal settlements.

According to activists from the campaign, it has been difficult to track down survivors, many of whom lost all their possessions, including identity documents.

“We are doing our best to make sure that many of the survivors are found and to make it possible for a class action to be launched. We have lawyers on standby to take on the case; we are now in the process of drafting a resolution giving lawyers the go-ahead to start the litigation process,” said campaign committee member General Moyo.

Sihle Dube, a survivor of the fire and a member of the campaign, has yet to recover full use of his arm after he had to jump from the first floor of the Usindiso building on the night of the fire. Although his home was not burned down, he later found that his belongings had been stolen by thieves who went into the building after the fire was extinguished.

Dube, who was hospitalised for a week after the fire, said he is struggling to pick up the pieces of his life. He came back from the hospital to find that the Denver settlement, where other survivors had been housed, was full. He had no choice but to move to an old fire station at the corner of Albert and Grey Streets, which is also a hijacked building. He and other people pay rent to a group of people who occupied the building first. The building uses water from an old fire hydrant, and electricity is connected illegally.

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“Many of us now find ourselves in the same circumstances as we were in the Usindiso building, which is scary. That is why we want to claim damages from the City of Joburg and to compel them to provide us with houses,” said Dube.

He said the City needs to take action because many buildings continue to be hijacked, leaving people vulnerable to the same fate that befell those in the Usindiso building.

Less than 48 hours later, during the early hours of Sunday a fire in a building in Jeppestown, which is believed to have been hijacked, caused the death of four people. According to reports, three people were injured and hospitalised, and more than 200 have been displaced.

Another survivor of the Marshalltown fire, Siphamandhla Sibiya, who is unemployed, says he is still traumatised and life has become even harder. He has moved to the EmaXhoseni informal settlement in the city with his wife and children. Since his arrival, there have been several fires in the informal settlement.

“It’s now almost one year after the fire, and we continue to struggle. The most important thing that we need right now are safe houses to live in,” said Sibiya.

Campaign coordinator Mametlwe Sebei said: “We are yet to see full accountability from the authorities. There is no movement to address the broader issues of lack of housing in the City of Joburg. It is important for us to have justice and redress, which is why we are pushing for a compensation claim.”

GroundUp asked City of Johannesburg spokesperson Virgil James for comment. Comment will be added if it is received.

This article was originally published on GroundUp.

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