A Delft father burnt to death over the weekend after he was trapped in his shack.
Neighbours of Thembalani Goniwe, 27, watched in horror as his charred body was removed from his home following a blaze which ripped through six homes during the early hours on Sunday.
Resident Zimbini Yaya, 25, says she was at home asleep with her baby when she smelt smoke.
“I went to look what was going on when I saw his shack was on fire. I went to the front to get help and went to get my baby out when I saw the flames were right there by my baby,” she says.
“I grabbed him and ran out. The wind was bad and all our homes burnt. We lost everything and don’t have clothes or nappies for our babies.”
GONE: Thembalani Goniwe, 27
Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Theo Layne, says the fire was doused by 2.22am and the cause is undetermined.
Goniwe’s cousin, Andisiwe Busika, 29, says: “We don’t know how it started. Some say he was smoking and cooking, others say it was a candle so we don’t know. Thembalani lived there with his girlfriend and baby girl, but she is visiting her mother in the Eastern Cape and will come home to nothing. We are making funeral arrangements now, but we don’t know when we will get his body.”
Msasazi Magundwana, who owns the one formal house on the property, says: “There are also small children living there who lost all their stuff for school. We don’t know what we are going to do now.”
If you would like to assist, call Msaseazi on 071 023 4720.