Durban - AN elderly woman and her two great-grandchildren died in a fire in KwaMjiza, Nongoma, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
It is believed that the fire was caused by a candle. The 84-year-old woman with her two great-grandsons, 13 and 8 years old, were found burnt inside the homestead on Saturday morning.
Jeremiah Sibiya said that he found the body of his mother, Niniza Sibiya, lying near a window with her grandchildren Ntwenhle and Alwande lying next to her.
Sibiya, who sleeps in a separate homestead on the property, said that he woke up in the early hours of the morning and noticed that his mother’s door was still locked.
“She normally wakes up very early and it was strange that day that her door was still locked. So I went to check. I knocked, but there was no answer. There was a burnt smell so I broke the glass window and I saw my mother lying on the floor, while there was ash from the fire everywhere. I just collapsed on the spot,” he said.
According to Sibisi, though his room and his mother’s are in the same yard, he had not heard anything during the night as there had been strong winds in the area.
“The sad part is that I did not even hear them screaming for help. Everything got burnt.” Sibisi said that the incident had left the family traumatised. “Seeing my mother lying on the floor like that killed me inside. I am so heartbroken and I can’t even find words to explain it. My child can’t even talk because her two young children are no more. I can never erase such an image from my mind,” he said.
KZN provincial police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala confirmed the incident and said inquest dockets had been opened by the Nongoma SAPS.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated. No foul play is suspected,” said Gwala.
KZN Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, described the incident as horrible and painful.
“We are concerned about a rising number of fire incidents where elderly people end up losing their lives,” said Khoza.
She added that a team of social workers had been dispatched to provide the family with psycho-social support.
KZN MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sipho Hlomuka, said he had dispatched his department’s disaster management team to KwaNongoma to provide assistance to the family.
Hlomuka urged residents across the province to be cognisant of the dangers posed by candles, especially when left unattended.
The Mercury