Court hears firsthand account of charred body found in Usindiso fire
The Usindiso building fire in August 2023 killed 76 people, mostly Malawian nationals.
The High Court in Johannesburg heard a firsthand account of the discovery of a charred male body at the Usindiso building fire in the Johannesburg CBD. Chicco Nyathi, the City of Johannesburg Emergency Services Incident Commander, testified as the first witness in the reopened trial against Sthembiso Mdlalose, who faces 76 counts of murder for allegedly starting the August 2023 fire that killed 76 people, mostly Malawian nationals.
Judge Cassim Moosa indicated that forensic records needed clarification before delivering judgment on Mdlalose and extortionist charges. The court was supposed to hand down judgment to Mdlalose, but Moosa clarified that some forensic evidence required further explanation. Nyathi described the condition of the body: "Yes, I still, of course.
It was exactly where we gained our access on the spaza shop. On the floor, everything was totally burnt. All those shacks were down. So, we could see that, that is a human being. And we decided to move it to avoid stepping on it."
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