Johannesburg fire: President Ramaphosa urges strict enforcement of laws over 'hijacked' buildings

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday (September 2) urged authorities to enforce laws strictly preventing city residents from unlawfully occupying apartment blocks without violating their rights. "Local government has to enforce the laws," Ramaphosa said at a governing African National Congress party event, the news agency Reuters reported.

Ramaphosa's remarks came two days after more than 70 people died in a fire in a Johannesburg building that was occupied illegally. The five-storey building was owned by municipal authorities, but officials said it was "invaded and hijacked" by unknown groups.Investigators have not determined the cause of the blaze which is considered one of the worst disasters in South Africa.

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"This has given us a wake-up call, and I have said that our cities and municipalities must now pay attention to how people live. We do encourage people to live in the inner city ...but we need to do it in accordance with our laws," Ramaphosa said during Saturday's event.

'Some fire victims might have been extorted by criminal gangs'

Government officials said that some of the victims of the Johannesburg building fire may have been renting from, or were being extorted by, criminal gangs in the so-called "hijacked buildings" syndicates. Meanwhile, municipal officials said that efforts to evict residents in illegally occupied buildings have been often hamstrung by court orders stopping the evictions.

Reuters further reported that many such buildings have become dilapidated centres of drug trafficking and other lawlessness. Fires break out as residents rely on illegal electricity connections, gas burners, and candles.

Sniffer dogs search for clues

On Friday, police with sniffer dogs searched through the gutted remains of the building to look for clues. Most of the bodies of the victims were burned beyond recognition and investigators would have to rely on DNA samples from relatives to identify them, Thembalethu Mpahlaza, from Gauteng province's Forensic Pathology Services, told Reuters.

Authorities urged those displaced by the fire to leave and overnight provided buses to take them to a homeless shelter. However, many chose to stay, hoping to save what was left of their belongings.

(With inputs from agencies)

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