Yet another complex burns in Thohoyandou

The town of Thohoyandou continues to decrease in size as fires continue to ravage the town and eat chunks of it, bit by bit.

Residents and tenants in this town have not yet come to terms with the devastating effects a fire caused at one of the complexes last month.

Six shops at the Nemaorani Complex were gutted and all their contents burnt during the fire.

As if that was not enough, late-afternoon shoppers on Sunday had a close shave when the busy Mutsindo Mall became the latest casualty, with five shops burnt to ashes.

The fire is believed to have started at one of the shops but soon spread to other shops.Damage caused is estimated at more than R2 million. The cause of the fire remains a mystery.

As the fires continue to ravage the town of Thohoyandou, many questions are being asked as to whether the fires are deliberate or caused by accident.

According to information at the newspaper's disposal, the fire was noticed at around 18:00 by an observant passer-by. The fire spread very quickly, with firefighters doing their best to extinguish it.

They managed to isolate the fire from the rest of the building before it could spread throughout the shops.

At the scene, some shop owners were trying to salvage whatever they could while others stood helplessly as their businesses went up in flames.

Questions are now beginning to be raised about the rampant fires that are threatening the survival of businesses in the town of Thohoyandou.

 Thulamela Business Forum's deputy chairperson, Mr Eddie Singo, said the fires had become a major headache for tenants in the town. "We are worried that the burning of businesses will adversely affect our people as they will lose jobs. The worst part of it is that we lost six shops not long ago, which left many jobless.”

He added that police should investigate the previous fires.

“As a community, we deserve to know, so the findings can help us to plan the fight of future fires," he said.

Limpopo police spokesperson Lt-Col Moatshe Ngoepe confirmed that they are investigating the burning of shops at the complex. "We have assembled a team of experts who will dig deeper to determine the cause of the fire," he said.

Ngoepe further appealed to those who might have information about the fire to phone the nearest police station or use the crime stop number 0860 010 111 or the crime line SMS 32211.

Date:29 September 2017

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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