Usindiso Building fire case postponed to 9 September
Sthembiso Mdlalose faces 76 counts of murder for his alleged involvement in starting the fire.
The Usindiso Building fire case has been adjourned until September 9th by the High Court in Johannesburg, set in Palm Ridge. This pause is to give the prosecution time to bring a doctor forward to explain certain postmortem report discrepancies. Sthembiso Mdlalose stands accused of 76 counts of murder, allegedly for his role in starting the August 2023 blaze that killed 76 people, most of whom were Malawian nationals.
State Prosecutor Thami Mpekane submitted a doctor's affidavit to address some inconsistencies in the pathology report, such as bodies initially reported as burned to death but actually succumbing to smoke inhalation. The indictment also referred to one victim as female, yet photographs showed the body as male. Judge Cassim Moosa deemed it best for the original doctor to testify in person, stating that "the information provided here needs to be explained by the author thereof."
The court cannot accept that page 7 of this document, signed by the Acting Head of the Clinical Unit, represents the findings as at that day.
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