Over the weekend, devastating fires swept through several areas in Cape Town, South Africa, claiming two lives and leaving nearly 2,000 people without homes.
According to emergency services, these fires, occurring in three separate incidents, resulted in significant damage to hundreds of shacks, displacing thousands of residents.
Regarding the tragic events, Jermaine Carelse, the spokesperson for Cape Town’s fire and rescue team, stated, “An adult male and female sustained fatal burn wounds and were declared deceased by medics” in one of the affected informal settlements.
The most extensive blaze erupted in the early hours of Sunday, consuming over 150 shacks and displacing more than 1,000 individuals in the Mfuleni settlement, situated approximately 30 kilometers southeast of Cape Town.
Carelse mentioned that investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.
Shackfires have long been a recurring issue in South Africa, posing a constant threat to the impoverished residents of informal settlements across the country’s urban areas.
As of 2022, statistics from the housing ministry indicated that 12.3 percent of the population resided in shacks.
Amidst the devastation, the South African Muslim charity Gift of the Givers has stepped in to provide humanitarian aid to those affected.
This aid includes essential supplies such as hot meals, clean drinking water, blankets, mattresses, and baby care products.
Additionally, efforts are underway to accommodate the displaced individuals in community halls.
Despite strides made since the end of apartheid, issues surrounding land ownership and housing policy remain contentious topics in South African politics.
With upcoming elections on May 29, these issues continue to be central in public discourse.
