A man died in his shack at Cyril Ramaphosa informal settlement in Philippi, after allegedly being electrocuted on Sunday 26 June.
The incident occurred at about 05:00. The deceased shack burnt down during the incident.
Community leader Bulelani Mbinda said the deceased was burnt beyond recognition. “We are saddened and shocked by the death,” he said.
“According to the information at our disposal, the deceased was electrocuted while trying to fix electricity in his shack. As we know, there is no electricity here, and people are illegally connecting from the nearby danger boxes.”
Mbinda added that it was unfortunate to lose one of the community’s own in such a way.
He said firefighters arrived early, but struggled to get inside as there are no streets between the shacks. “We managed to extinguish the flames, but the firefighters came later to take the statement.”
Nyanga Police Station commander Brig Vuyisile Ncata confirmed the incident, saying an inquest docket had been opened.
The cause of the incident is still unknown.
“I can confirm that on Sunday morning an adult male died in a shack fire in Ramaphosa, but we don’t know the real cause of it was. The police are still investigating,” he said.