‘Tiny’ shacks for Usindiso fire survivors after shelter became unsafe

Marshalltown fire victims relocated to zinc shacks close to the notorious Denver men’s hostel in the Johannesburg CBD say they are terrified about living there, but the city has assured them 24/7 security is on site.

Women were moved to the temporary housing site in Denver from the nearby Hofland Recreational Centre in Jeppestown on Tuesday after the community complained about elements of criminality within the group of more than 100 who had lived there since the fire in August.

Kholeka Ncube, 27, said she was worried about her safety as the plot in Denver was on the outskirts and doors to the shacks were not secure.

“They took away the men and only South African women came, but some of these people were families. We’re here alone and we can’t go to look for work because we have to look after the children.

“That hostel is dangerous. We know dangerous people live there but they put us here. I’m scared,” she said.

When TimesLIVE visited on Thursday, the one-room shacks were still under construction and were being built in rows. It was apparent the roofs were not properly sealed. Perimeter security around the site had not been erected. There are mobile toilets and communal taps but no electricity.

“We don’t have a choice. We will survive and once we have a plan we will leave. The first night here was not nice because we don’t have furniture or anything. Time will tell,” Ncube said.

Zanele Malusi, deputy director of inner-city and urban cores in the City of Johannesburg, said 17 South Africans, two men and the rest female, and their children were relocated to the site.

“There are 24-hour armed guards at the Shalazile Denver camp. The receiving community has welcomed them,” Malusi said.

A child who was missing on Tuesday was found at a park and returned to her mother.

“It appears the mother lost the child earlier in the day. I am waiting for a report from the social worker who found her.”

During the relocation from Jeppestown, the shelter occupants were screened to determine who was in the country without legal documentation.

“Home Affairs did the final processing. A total of 51 foreigners without documents, who were confirmed not to have documents [as opposed to having lost them during the fire], were processed in terms of the Immigration Act.

“Their process has been to load them out of the facility and they are being processed at a police station. They were presented to court on Wednesday for confirmation and to have them sent to the Lindela Repatriation Centre for further deportation processing,” said Malusi.

She said there were also 14 Tanzanians who did have copies of their passports but no valid permits. One Malawian claimed to have once had asylum. Verification of these documents was underway, said Malusi.

According to a manager of the Hofland Centre, the conduct of survivors prompted this week's relocation. Vincent Matloga said some of the group had committed theft, were in possession of drugs and sold donated goods.

Mantwa Thwala, one of the fire survivors, said she was happy to be out of the centre as it had become unsafe for women and children.

They had also not been able to earn an income in Jeppestown, she said. Many of the occupants of the Marshalltown building had eked out a livelihood by hawking goods on the street or working as cleaners. Many of the items they traded were lost in the fire. She had sold kota sandwiches in the Usindiso building. 

“It was not nice living there [at the Jeppestown shelter] because people were stealing from each other. You’d find your money or pillow is gone. It was like a prison for me, so now I can hustle freely. We would run out of food and there was nothing you could do. The water would be cold for showers and the space wasn’t enough for all of us,” Thwala said.

She said people became desperate and as a result started stealing.

“The problem is that things were not working out for us. You can understand why people did bad things there.” 

Thwala said her concern was that officials were separating families through the process of relocation and deportation.

“Most of those men are fathers of the children left here. What must happen now?”

The Usindiso building, on the corner of Delvers and Albert streets in Marshalltown, is owned by the City of Johannesburg and once served as a shelter for abused women and children. However, the building was “hijacked” by illegal landlords who charged residents more than R1,000 a month for accommodation. Highly flammable shacks were erected in some areas and doorways were blocked, which hampered firefighting efforts after the deadly fire broke out. The building is unsafe for occupation and has been shuttered.

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