Another large fire in Imizamo Yethu leaves 400 homeless

 

Just over a month since the large fire Imizamo Yethu, another fire broke out in the township last night, killing one person, destroying about 100 homes and leaving approximately 400 people homeless, according to the City of Cape Town.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. A fire on 11 March left thousands homeless.

Some of the displaced families were also victims of last month’s fire, staying with relatives while waiting for the City’s plans or staying in newly built shacks for only a few weeks.

“I really do not have any plan now. I have been in this shack for almost two weeks and again it’s burnt. I have again lost everything,” said Charles Kayambo, 46, an immigrant from Namibia. He said that he spent R7,000 on building material to rebuild his home. “I have no money to buy material. Last time I used all my savings. I have to wait maybe for almost two to three months then make a plan on my own if the City does not quickly build us houses.” . He said he has been staying in Imizamo Yethu for 18 years.

Kayambo said he did not want to move to another area, because he works at a construction company in Hout Bay and his children attend school in the area.

Mondeli Nganga, also a victim of the last fire, was staying with his brother whose shack caught fire last night. He heard neigbours shouting, “fire! fire!” All he could do was to take his children to safety. He says the wind was strong that and he could not rescue anything from his brother’s shack. His wife died last year and he takes care of his two children, aged two and nine.

Olga Kotwana has also been a victim of a past fire. “I really look forward to the City quickly building us brick houses because this is my second time after a 2004 fire,” she said.. She said that she had not eaten anything since her food was burnt to ashes.

Another victim Gibson Mbina, 49, told Groundup that every time after a fire incident the community has meetings and tries to stop further incidents but some people do not take the advise seriously. “It is difficult to change one’s behaviour but we always advise members to prepare food before going to shebeens” he said. Mbina said most of the time fires in the area are a result of drunk people trying to prepare food in the very late or very early hours of the day.

Displaced people were queuing for food parcels from the City of Cape Town and toiletries from a charity called Thula Thula.
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This story first appeared on GroundUp

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