A man on trial for the deadly Usindiso fire that killed 76 people and injured 12 others says he lied about having started the fire because he wanted to go to prison as he knew he would get food and shelter there.
Sithembiso Mdlalose, 32, broke down in tears while in the dock in Palm Ridge magistrate's court on Wednesday as he read his statement in which he said he spent three years living on the streets and could not go back to that life.
“I didn't kill anyone, I just wanted to go to prison because they would provide me with food and shelter.”
The only crime that you can convict me on is lying under oath. Sometimes when I sit back, I admire and say, how good was I to be able to convince even the magistrate that I might have been the one who started the fire.
— Sithembiso Mdlalose
According to Mdlalose, his boss, known as Master, was the one who caused the fire after assaulting a man.
“The only crime that you can convict me on is lying under oath. Sometimes when I sit back, I admire and say, how good was I to be able to convince even the magistrate that I might have been the one who started the fire.”
Senior magistrate Pieter du Plessis was the one who recorded Mdlalose’s confession in January last year.
According to Mdlalose, he lied in his confession because he “just wanted a new life” as prison would offer him shelter and food.
He also claimed to have seen Master pouring petrol on the assaulted man.
“I found Master on the first floor and he was angry with me because I took time and did not come back with petrol. We then went to the room where there was a guy who was assaulted and I saw there was a guard at the door.
“When I entered the room with Master I saw the contents on the floor, which had petrol inside. I noticed that the guy who was assaulted was sitting on the chair, his head and upper body bent looking down, and did not have any movement.
“Master and I left the room but after some time Master called me. We went back to the room where the guy who was assaulted was sitting. Master took the container, poured it on the man, then poured it on the ground and we went outside the room.
WATCH | Sithembiso Mdlalose, the man accused in the deadly Usindiso building fire, breaks down in court. He says he only confessed to breaking the law to avoid the street life. #Usindiso
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“He poured the petrol outside the room and left the container there. I then left and went to the third floor, but after some time there was a burst of fire and I think Master was the one who lit the petrol.”
He said the initial statement he had given where he claimed to have caused the fire was false as he was “high” at the time, but a month later when he appeared before the Usindiso commission, he was sober.
“I've reached the deep end because the statement I had given was not convincing enough for me to go to the government hotel [prison].
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