Grief and unanswered questions weigh heavily on the families of the nine construction workers who tragically died when a building collapsed in Ormonde, south of Johannesburg, earlier this week.
The faces of the family members bore the agony of loss as they embarked on the unenviable task of identifying the mortal remains of their loved ones at the Hillbrow government mortuary on Tuesday.
For Nomasonto Mkhwanazi, the devastating news about her brother’s demise came in the worst way possible – through social media. Her brother, Phumlani Mkhwanazi (26), and eight others died after being trapped for hours beneath the rubble of a double-storey building owned by New Order Investments 90.
She said she was made aware of the disaster when videos and posts about the collapse began trending online.
“At first, I did not think it was the building he was working at. I think I did not want to believe that his life could be in danger. I was in denial until our little brother confirmed the news,” she told Sunday World.
Mkhwanazi spoke after identifying her brother’s body at the mortuary, clearly shaken by what she had witnessed.
“The state he was in showed me that the situation was beyond their power; the ones who survived are lucky. God knows why this happened to them,” she said, fighting back tears.
“It is difficult for us to say we will accept and move on because we have questions. How do we accept that someone who was that young and full of life is gone?” she added.
According to Mkhwanazi, Phumlani had left his rural hometown of eDumbe in KwaZulu-Natal in search of work in Johannesburg, hoping to help support his family back home.
“He came here to seek employment so that he could help our grandmother back home. I can only imagine how our grandmother is feeling.
She described her brother as loving, playful and supportive.
“We will miss him so dearly. The last conversation I had with him was recent; he promised to send me money on Friday when he got paid, as I am still looking for a job. He helped whenever he could,” she said.
Another family grappling with loss is that of Amalio Timbe (38), a Mozambican national who also died in the collapse.
His cousin, Thalitha Makhaya, said, “The family has been struggling to accept his passing.”
Timbe leaves behind two children in Maputo.
Although the Department of Employment and Labour has confirmed that the main contractor and subcontractors were registered with the Compensation Fund, which may provide support to affected families, Makhaya said financial challenges remain, particularly in covering immediate expenses.
The situation has been made even more difficult because Timbe did not have a valid work permit, leaving relatives to shoulder the costs of transporting his body across the border.
Authorities confirmed that the disaster claimed the lives of nine workers and injured several others.
Early investigations have also raised serious concerns about how the building was constructed.
Meanwhile, the lawyer of New Order Investments, Sinenhlanhla Mnguni, said his client has appointed an independent team of structural engineers and safety specialists to investigate the cause of the collapse.
