Witness 'doesn't believe' Usindiso fire accused was forced to confess
A woman who survived the Usindiso fire in which 76 people were killed doesn't believe Lawrence Sithembiso Mdlalose, accused of setting the building alight, was coerced into confessing by an alleged Tanzanian drug dealer.
Noluthando Khumalo-Mzizi testified at the Johannesburg high court sitting in Palm Ridge magistrate's court on Wednesday, a day after Mdlalose's confession was read in court.
Mdlalose is accused of setting fire to the Usindiso building in Johannesburg in 2023, resulting in the deaths of 76 people and leaving 12 others injured.
After the incident, a commission of inquiry led by former justice Sisi Khampepe to probe, among other aspects, the circumstances that led to the deaths was established in September 2023.
Mdlalose gave testimony on January 23 2024, allegedly implicating himself as the person who started the fire, resulting in an order by Khampepe that he be taken to a magistrate to reduce his confession to writing.
He is facing 76 counts of murder, one count of arson and 12 counts of attempted murder.
Khumalo-Mzizi testified that she knew the alleged Tanzanian drug dealer as she used to do her hair at his salon. She told the court that she only knew tenants who were living on floor one, where she was staying, and didn't know Mdlalose.
She said that night of the fire, she heard noise from the basement, where Master stayed, late in the evening before the fire started.
'I said to myself that those are Tanzanians, they had already started as they used to fight and make noise and hurt one another,' she testified, adding that it was normal for them to make noise.
'Upon hearing the noise, I ignored it.' She said that was around 11pm and she subsequently heard people screaming around 2am. She peeped through the window and realised that the smoke was emanating from Master's side, who lived on the ground floor.
'I took the phone, the gown and ended up opening the door. After that, I tried to run towards the west direction. I took two steps and I could feel there was heat on my face,' she testified, adding that she had been sleeping naked.
'I made a turn, heading to the other side where there is another gate. I could feel I was stepping on bodies.' She testified that she stumbled upon about 11 bodies while naked in the darkness.
She said it was dark as there was no electricity in the building. She added that she jumped over the balcony from the first floor when one of the tenants advised her to put on her gown.
She testified that she last saw the alleged Tanzanian drug lord, Master, three months after the incident. She testified that she didn't know who could have burnt the building, but she knew that it was set alight.
When asked about Mdlalose's confession during cross-examination, she testified that she did not believe he was forced to confess. When asked if Master was responsible for the fire, she told the court that she didn't know anything.
'He is lying. Do you think someone will threaten you to do that, and agree to go to jail? If he was threatened, why didn't he go to the police and inform them?
'We are talking about Master, who is a foreign national, and when we talk about Sithembiso, we are talking about a South African citizen. How come he was threatened by a foreign national?' she asked. 'We were left with nothing because of him. We are left with no friends, no families, and some of the children have lost their parents. He must just come forth and tell the truth,' she said.
She added that she knew Master was selling drugs, but she did not know who was selling drugs on his behalf.
In his confession, Mdlalose said the man he had asked to sell R300 merchandise for him had not returned and he had already told Master that he gave the merchandise to KB and Master wasn't really happy with this explanation.
'I had to find him as my life was at risk. We found him on Wednesday evening,' he said in his confession.
He said that he and Siwe took KB to Usindiso Building, ground floor, where they had a room called Slaghuis — a room where people are tortured. He said at the time he didn't squander the proceeds and had to prove himself to Master by assaulting KB.
'Based on the fact that I acted in rage, I think I overdid the assault. I returned later, saw he was conscious, so I started beating him again. There was a kettle cord which I used to strangle him,' he said in his confession.
He said he wasn't intending on killing KB, but when he realised that he was no longer breathing, he was in a state of confusion and panic he had to devise a way to get rid of the body or move it.
'I decided to go buy petrol. I didn't expect my actions would lead to innocent people dying and being injured. I came back after buying the petrol and I doused his [KB's] body with petrol and I went to stand near the doorway, struck a match and threw it at his body,' read the confession.
The trial was adjourned until Friday.
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