The mothers of five children who burnt to death at the Itireleng informal settlement in Centurion, Pretoria are facing charges of culpable homicide.
The children – boys aged two, four and six, and girls aged 17 months and seven – perished when the blaze destroyed three shacks early on Sunday morning.
They had been left home alone without any supervision while their mothers, who are sisters, went partying at a local tavern until the wee hours.
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Charles Mabaso said the incident was reported at about 4.26am on Sunday.
“The remains of the five children were burnt beyond recognition and they were discovered in the ruins of the shacks after the fire was extinguished by fire fighters,” said Mabaso.
“We call on parents and caregivers to ensure that children are always left in the care of an adult and in a safe environment.”
Police spokesperson Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said the women have been charged with culpable homicide and are expected in court soon.
Community policing forum chairperson Shaheen Wahab said the residents are angry and feel that the incident could have been avoided.
“The community is outraged because they want answers. This could have been avoided if people did not care about their own needs than their kids,” said Wahab.
“They left them unattended. We will do everything in our ability to get them the harshest sentence. This is negligence.”
The circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire are still under investigation.
Gauteng MEC for human settlements and infrastructure development Lebogang Maile visited the area on Monday for an inspection.
He said the main problem is illegal invasion (of private property).
“Informal settlements like this one need to be relocated because this area is not habitable. This is a big challenge for government,” Maile said.
“We would like to urge the public to help us in preventing the mushrooming of these informal settlements.”
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