A woman who survived one of SA’s most devastating fires, which claimed the lives of 76 people in the Joburg CBD, has told of how tragedy struck for the second time when she was hit by two stray bullets while sleeping.
Thobeka Biyela was among a group of people who were displaced by the fire at the Usindiso building in Marshalltown in August 2023.
The 28-year-old woman said the shooting happened in her shack in the Shalazi informal settlement in Denver, where the City of Joburg had relocated them in November that year.
Biyela, who was shot in February, said the scar in her lower abdomen is a painful reminder of how close she came to death that day.
“I was caught in a crossfire. It happened while I was sleeping in my bed. Two bullets hit me in my stomach. I don’t know where they came from, but earlier that day, there was a scuffle outside. But because it is the norm, I did not pay much attention to it. Later that day, I was hit by stray bullets,” said Biyela.
I live in fear whether I’m in my shack or outside because there’s gunfire all the time here
— Thobeka Biyela
Neighbours ran to help a screaming Biyela, who was rushed to hospital.
“Only one bullet was removed and I was told that the other one was in a critical place and if they were to remove it, it would cause damage. I live in fear whether I’m in my shack or outside because there’s gunfire all the time here,” Biyela said.
She blamed the city for the near-death experience.
“Had the City of Johannesburg lived up to its promise to relocate us to a permanent address as they first said, we would not be here and our safety would not be compromised.”
Sowetan sent several questions regarding the Denver residents’ complaints to the city’s spokesperson, Nthatisi Modingoane. However, two weeks later, he had not responded.
Two years ago, the city built just more than 300 shacks to accommodate 30 people from the Usindiso fire and other victims of the 2021 Booysens fire. Each shack cost roughly R14,000 and the city paid R4,2m to a construction company, whose work was shoddy as the roofs of some of the houses leaked when it rained.
The settlement is now a ghost town, with only 10 families remaining. Their presence there has exposed them to crime and gun-toting thugs who harass them.
“Our rights and safety do not matter to anyone; we were dumped here and no one checks on us or updates us about anything,” said Biyela.
Simphiwe “Van Wyk” Ngcobo, 40, who lost her son in the fire, said the Denver residents were being retraumatised because "we are not happy or safe".
“We are here because we have nowhere else to go. Gunshot noises are popular here, a sound we can’t get used to. One is scared to step out or even staying indoors, because we have seen that harm can get to you here, like in Thobeka's [Biyela] case. We don’t know who to even reach out to with our concerns.
“The picture of the fire ... I can’t get over it, nor can my child. Even the environment that we are in does not allow us to forget that trauma.”
Ngcobo said her daughter constantly talks about the many dead people she saw at Usindiso after the fire. “I wish we could get counselling and a much safer place to stay,” she said.
When Denver camp was created, city officials promised the accommodation would be short-term, with permanent housing expected within six months. Nearly two years later, no clear relocation plan has been communicated.
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