It is a settling of scores against a backdrop of drug trafficking which is at the origin of one of the deadliest fires in the world in the last 20 years. The one that hit a building in Johannesburg on the night of August 30 to 31, 2023, killing 77 people including twelve children. In any case, if we are to believe the confessions of the main suspect who was indicted this Thursday for 76 counts of intentional homicide and 86 attempts.
The 30-year-old South African was arrested on Tuesday after confessing to a commission investigating the case. After strangling a man who had problems with a drug trafficker, he allegedly set fire to the body to erase the traces of his crime. Trapped by the flames, the victims finally perished trapped in this dilapidated four-story building occupied by squatters and belonging to the municipality. Many bodies were found behind locked gates.
The suspect was placed in pre-trial detention, his request for release having been rejected. He faces life imprisonment. According to his lawyer, Me Dumisani Mabunda, the question of whether he will plead guilty or not has not yet been decided. The next hearing is scheduled for February 1.