Khayelitsha remembers men who died in fire
KHAYELITSHA residents joined councillors, politicians and families affected by the New Year’s day fire in BM Section that left five dead, for a memorial service at the OR Tambo hall.
The service yesterday was held to honour Luyanda Ngcebetshane, Lunga Krexe, Sivuyile Gqodo, Nkosiyako Lako, and Zukile Magada – the five men who died in a blaze that also left almost 3 000 people homeless.
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille said their lives were “brought to a tragic and premature end” and that the city was doing all they could to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
“There are no words to compensate for this loss. What we can do, however, is honour their memory, celebrate their lives, and keep their families and friends in our thoughts and prayers at this most difficult of times.” De Lille said the city was working towards a long-term solution to bettering the BM section
“Today, I will present a number of different options for the community to consider. The city, working with the provincial and national governments, will continue to do everything possible… “
Alfred Maxhi, who lost his brother in the fire, said their “leaders” had failed them and the fact that his brother’s body was only collected at midnight on the day was unacceptable.
“If we didn’t live in the BM section we wouldn’t be here today speaking of deceased family members.”
Maxhi said leaders were too busy fighting among themselves to care.