Khampepe building inspection comes up with ‘very bothersome’ findings

'Chickens slaughtered in the building without the place being cleaned'

An old fire station “converted” into a residential building housing 4,000 people, a building where live chickens are kept and slaughtered and a “very bothersome” property with shacks on the second floor.

These are some of the findings made by the Khampepe commission of inquiry into the Usindiso fire during in loco inspections of abandoned and hijacked buildings.

The commission, chaired by former Constitutional Court justice Sisi Khampepe, inspected some of the buildings that have been declared unsafe in the Joburg CBD, to see what could be done to improve them for the residents.

Among the findings presented were those from a visit to a two-storey building on the corner of Commissioner and Nugget streets, which caught fire earlier this year, and at Denver, where victims of last year's deadly Usindiso fire have been relocated.

Evidence leader Ishmael Semenya SC continued with the presentation of findings on Wednesday, revealing the dire state of most of the buildings inspected, which flouted numerous bylaws and were mostly unfit for human habitation. This was the third day of its sitting since it resumed on Monday.

Eltruda Court and Bertrams multipurpose centre were among the few buildings found fit for habitation.

15 Kruis Street

Among buildings inspected was an old fire station, located on 15 Kruis Street, which has three floors and 62 living units.

“It houses a whopping 4,000 people [about]. The city owns the property as a fire station. Some occupiers started living in the building in 2022 and they don't pay rent.

“There are noticeable structural defects and the building is dilapidated inside and outside. There is running sewage in some parts of the building and [while] there are ablution facilities in the units, they are flushed using buckets.

“The commission found that occupants draw water from nearby fire hydrants as the building has no water and that while there is electricity, they do not pay for it. The building's fire equipment does not work and has not been serviced 'in a long time'.”

Pictures taken inside the building show rusty and broken steel kitchen units, a sparsely furnished single room with a TV and sound bar placed on a makeshift stand and some of the buckets used to collect water.

The fire station flouted several of the city's bylaws.

“The inspection revealed that the building is prima facie unfit for human habitation in that [there is] overcrowding, leaking sewerage and no proper water facilities,” Semenya said.

29 Hans Street

Another property that came under scrutiny was 29 Hans Street, whose exterior Semenya described as “very bothersome”.

“Waste is littered all over the place, broken windows are shown [in some] of the photos, brick and mortar units are located inside [while] corrugated units are outside,” he said by way of description.

“The shacks erected on the second floor do not seem to have been erected with any approval by a professional.”

The two-storey property is privately owned but the owner has died. It houses about 100 units, which are occupied by 200-300 people. 

The building was also found to be unfit for habitation, with the Socioeconomic Rights Institute of South Africa recommending that the occupants be moved to temporary accommodation.

Zambesi House

Zambesi House presented mixed findings for the commission, as some fire equipment was found out of order while some was new but uninstalled.

Occupiers pay rent for the privately owned building. It is meant to be R1,400 but is coming in at R1,250.

The building has seven floors and 266 units with about 400 occupants. It has a creché, according to the commission.

The building was found to be “dilapidated”, had “sewage present in some parts” and the creché was found to have “minimal ventilation”. It also has no water or bathtubs but has electricity.

“Live chickens in the building pose a health risk as they are slaughtered without the place being cleaned,” the commission found.

While it too was found unfit for habitation, the commission said it didn't fall within its terms of reference as the owners or landlords have not abandoned the building and the residents pay rent. 

The inquiry will continue on Thursday. 

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