Man arrested for 76 murders in Johannesburg building fire

Police in south africa said on wednesday they had arrested a man who admitted to being a fire in an abandoned building in Johannesburg Last August, dozens of people were killed, some of whom jumped to their deaths or were trapped behind closed security gates.

The 29-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday on 76 counts of murder and 120 counts of attempted murder, said Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, a police spokeswoman in Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg. The man's name has not been released.

Officials originally said the fire, which destroyed a crowded four-story building in the early hours of August 31, had killed 77 people. But a committee investigating the disaster was later told the number was doubtful due to the severe burning of some bodies.

The fire attracted international attention on hundreds of dilapidated, illegally occupied buildings in Johannesburg, such as the burnt-out building, which housed poor families who could not afford safer housing. These urban squatter camps are known as 'hijacked' buildings because they are often taken over by gangs that traffic drugs and extort residents for rent payments.

The 29-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday after testifying before the committee investigating the fire. The commission's hearings have been livestreamed, but the man testified behind closed doors out of fear that gang leaders operating out of the building would have him killed, the commission's lead attorney said.

“His life could be in danger if it is made public,” the lawyer, Ishmael Semenya, said during a public portion of the hearing.

Police have not provided any details about the man's confession. According to South African news sources, he said in his testimony on Tuesday that he had strangled a man, poured gasoline on the body and set it on fire, and that the fire had spread.

At least a dozen children were among those killed in the fire – two of them were called Memory – migrants from other African countries and people who have jobs as teachers and technicians. Neighbors and residents said the building also housed criminal gangs who sold drugs on the sidewalk and robbed passersby.

The government owned the building and many others like it. Going block by block and searching through records, New York Times reporters identified at least 127 similar buildings and neglected death traps last yearin the center of Johannesburg.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the fire was a “wake-up call” for South Africa, where the cost of living puts housing out of reach for many, and where city governments look the other way as people occupy waste-strewn buildings without water. or electricity.

The committee investigating the fire stopped work last year after the building housing the fire was itself deemed a fire hazard. The hearings resumed this month.