Protestors gathered in Marshalltown to highlight the plight and neglect of survivors from the 2023 tragedy. 

Almost six months after a devastating fire, survivors say they have been left worse off. Now, the ‘Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign’ (MFJC) has made a demand for adequate housing for the group.  

The MFCJ organized a march to demand adequate housing for fire survivors. Photo: Kabir Jugram

Residents of the Denver settlement, just outside of the Johannesburg CBD, were led by the MFJC on April 26, 2024, as they approached the doorsteps of provincial power.  

No one met the group at Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda’s office, but a representative, Puleng Chabane who is the deputy director of rapid responses accepted the memorandum of demands at Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi’s office. 

The MFJC was initially established to give support to victims of the Usindiso building fire on August 31, 2023, that claimed 77 lives and displaced hundreds.  

According to General Moyo, a co-ordinator of the MFJC, those displaced by the fire have been made to live in poorer conditions.  

A Denver settlement resident holds up a sign which reads: “Eliminate housing backlogs with decent houses”. Photo: Kabir Jugram
Protestors marching through the streets of Marshalltown.
Photo: Kabir Jugram

 “[The shacks] can collapse at any time because there’s heavy underground mining activity, and when there’s flooding the people cannot sleep!…  Those one-room shacks are built with cheap materials,” he said.  

The lack of security and overcrowding in the settlement has also made women more vulnerable to Gender-Based Violence according to Moyo.  

Siphiwe Ncobo, a street vendor originally from Newcastle, lost her husband and child in the fire and has since been relocated to Denver. Despite a monthly R1 500 rental, she said there is no water, electricity and cooking facilities.  

Ncobo also claims she has seen up to seven people share a one-room shack. “It’s a squatter camp, not a hostel” she said.  

Speaking to those gathered, Mametlwe Sebei, president of the General Industries Workers Union and co-ordinator for MFJC, accused the government of ‘constitutional delinquency’ for failing to provide fire victims with their constitutional right to adequate housing.  

Sebei claims the government uses foreign nationals as scapegoats for a lack of resources, despite the numerous dilapidated buildings in Joburg CBD that could be repurposed for the displaced.  

“The black working class in particular get to bare the scapegoating, blaming and bashing of the elite that is incapable of resolving the many crises of their system!” proclaimed Sebei. 

In that sense, the march was more than a demand for adequate housing. It was a collective voice of frustration aimed at a government that continues to neglect its poor.  

Despite that, spirits were high as the crowd marched through the streets of Joburg CBD. The young and elderly alike could be seen dancing and whistling in the blazing sun, giving meaning to their chant as they proclaimed: “long live the spirit of Usindiso, long live!” 

Co-ordinators of the protest explain the purpose of the march. Video/YouTube: Kabir Jugram