political inferno

South Africa: Johannesburg’s ‘hijacked’ building fire exposes corruption and housing chaos

By Audrey Simango

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Posted on September 15, 2023 15:25

South African Police Service (SAPS) officers stands at the scene of a burned apartment block in Johannesburg on September 1, 2023, the day after the fire killed 77.
South African Police Service (SAPS) officers stands at the scene of a burned apartment block in Johannesburg on September 1, 2023, the day after the fire killed 77. (Luca Sola / AFP)

Crime syndicates are accused of colluding with officials in Johannesburg’s Marshalltown tragedy, in which 77 people died.

When Phineas jumped out of a window to escape the calamitous fire that blazed a Johannesburg apartment building on 31 August, he was unaware that the owner of the building was the government of South Africa, which he fears so much.

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