2 September 2025
The two-storey Lalanathi building has over 150 households. Photos: Kimberly Mutandiro
Two years after 77 lives were lost when the Usindiso Building on Davies Street, Johannesburg, burned down on 31 August 2023, people living in the “dark buildings” of the inner-city are still living in dangerous and unhygienic conditions.
The Usindiso Fire Commission of Enquiry inspected over 100 such buildings, considered dangerous. It was tasked with developing a roadmap for making them safe.
We visited residents in several of these buildings, including the Linatex Building at 27 Angle Road, the Walpert Motors building at 36 Janie Street and Lalanathi building at 20 Janie Street, Jeppestown.
The residents say that since the Usindiso disaster, they have yet to see any progress towards making their buildings safe. There have been a number of fires in the past two years.
But the residents do not wish to leave their homes or move away from the area – where they have lived for years, have their livelihoods and their children in schools, and access to affordable shops and street vendors. Instead, they want their buildings made safe and clean.
In its submission to the Usindiso Fire Commission of Enquiry, the Social Economic Rights Institute (SERI), representing some residents of inner-city buildings, raised the alarm over fire safety and living conditions and the urgent need to avert another Usindiso disaster.
SERI presented evidence to the commission that showed many people in the inner-city buildings live in dire conditions without water and sanitation services. A lack of electricity is the primary reason for fires. Some buildings are “hijacked”, with residents paying rent to criminal syndicates who do not pay rates or taxes.
SERI called on the City to make the buildings safe and habitable and to consult with the residents.
SERI attorney Osmond Mngomezulu says the City has not taken any urgent action despite there having been fires since the Usindiso inferno.
“While we got confirmation that the [Gauteng] Premier has received the [commission’s] final report, he has not shared a copy with us, nor has he made the report public. The lives of people in the inner city rely on that report,” said Mngomezulu.
Sizwe Pamla, spokesperson for the Gauteng Premier, confirmed that the report has been received. He said the Premier wanted other relevant stakeholders, such as the City, to receive the report before it is made public. The report’s release date will be finalised once an opening is identified in the Premier’s schedule.
“The City manager is the person responsible for ensuring compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act in a city, and the Department of Employment and Labour holds broader enforcement responsibilities,” said Pamla.
A fire hose in the Linatex building at 27 Angle Road, Johannesburg, which residents use as a water source.
The three-story Linatex Building has 52 households, some with ten people. The residents say they were moved here for temporary emergency accommodation after the building they lived in near Park Station burned down in June 2014.
A company named MES managed the building at the time on behalf of the City. From what the residents understand, the company withdrew in 2017 over a disagreement with the City. There have been maintenance issues ever since.
People use water from a fire hydrant and some also go to a nearby railway station. In front of the building is stagnant water and a blocked drain. On each floor, people share blocked, stinking communal toilets. There are exposed electric wires and sockets. Rooms are partitioned with boards.
Fredah Motshwane, who testified at the Udindiso commission, said the City says the building is hijacked, yet it was the City that moved them there.
“The risk of fire is our biggest fear,” said Motshwane.
The Walpert, formerly a panel beater’s premises, is a single storey building with about 40 households.
The Walpert Motors building, formerly a panel beater’s premises, is a single storey building with about 40 households. People have been living here since 2000. There are three communal toilets. There is an electricity meter, but it is broken. The City has never come to fix it, according to the residents.
“We have asked the City to refurbish our place and build proper toilets for us,” said Thobile Zondo. “Many of us live in large numbers in small rooms, and our toilets are unhygienic.”
Zondo said people used to pay R400 rent to the building’s owner. After he died, they would pool R150 per room to cover the electricity.
Thobile Zondo in her room in the Walpert building.
The two-storey Lalanathi building has over 150 households. The owner of the building is unknown to the residents and they have never paid for services.
People share toilets. They take turns cleaning them and the corridors.
They use illegal electricity connections.
Cebisile Mlambo, resident here for 11 years, said they are willing to pay to have their electricity formalised. She said over the years there had been at least one fire.
Cebisile Mhlambo, resident in the Lalanathi building for 11 years, says there have been several fires in recent years.
The City confirmed that the Linatex building is used for temporary emergency accommodation and is the responsiblity of the human settlements department. It said the department has done an assessment. Repairs to the plumbing, electrical wiring, windows, paint and waterproofing would be undertaken to improve the living conditions for occupants. The department will also proceed to remove any illegal occupants.
The City said the Walpert and Lalanathi buildings are privately owned and the owners should comply with the applicable by-laws.
The City said it has developed a “bad building strategy”, which is managed by its Special Projects unit in the office of the chief operating officer.