Fire destroys minister Stella Abrahams-Ndabeni’s home
Mystery blaze guts Mthatha house in about two hours
Mystery surrounds the fire that destroyed communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams’s Marhambeni village home, in Mthatha, on Sunday.
Villagers’ valiant efforts to put out the fire with buckets of water was in vain as the doublestorey house burnt. King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipality and OR Tambo district municipality’s fire engines also arrived to put the fire out. No-one was injured.
In a statement, NdabeniAbrahams said: “We are deeply saddened but we trust our God will pull us through this and give us strength to build another home for our children.”
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Tembinkosi Kinana said an inquest docket was opened.
“It is alleged that two men in their 30s who stay in the house, saw fire coming from the garage and it soon spread to the house. Firefighters were summoned to the scene, but were already too late as the fire engulfed the whole house.
“The cause of the fire will be established during an investigation in which fire experts will also be involved,” Kinana said.
Residents and the family were in shock while the local St Mary’s Anglican Church cut their service short to go to Ndabeni-Abrahams’s home for a prayer service.
Relatives of the minister who were on the scene as firefighters continued to extinguish the fire said they were too distraught to talk to the Daily Dispatch.
However, villagers who rushed to the scene, told the Dispatch that the fire burnt through the house in less than two hours.
One of those who rushed to help, Gcinumzi Sicwetsha, said he noticed smoke coming out of the house, which was near the Shell Ultra City on the N2 between Mthatha and Qunu. His home is about 100m from that of Ndabeni-Abrahams.
He and other residents managed to remove some furniture from the lounge before the fire become too strong for them.
Firefighters arrived about 30 minutes after the fire had started.
“One guy arrived in a firefighter bakkie and put on protective gear before struggling to put the fire out. Some trucks arrived a while after the bakkie and they did their best to extinguish the fire,” said Sicwetsha.
About four fire engines and skid unit bakkies were still at the scene at about 2pm, ensuring the fire did not flare up again.
Reverend Busisiwe Gqobo led the St Mary’s Anglican Church congregants to the NdabeniAbrahams’s house.
“We came here to pray to God to give the family strength to carry on and rebuild; and for them to know that this happened in the presence of God and he has a purpose,” said one of the churchwarden’s Bongiwe Nomanuka.
OR Tambo municipal spokesperson Zimkhita Macingwane said fire extinguisher trucks rushed to the scene and managed to extinguish the fire within “reasonable time”.
She said the KSD firefighters were called to the scene and as the district municipality, they responded as backup.
“Our skid unit got to the scene first as it’s the fastest, with the trucks and backup arriving later. There are about nine different types of engines here,” she said.
KSD municipal spokesperson Sonwabo Mampoza could not be reached for comment at the time of writing as his phone went straight to voicemail. Additional reporting by Bhongo Jacob
We came here to pray to God to give the family strength to carry on and rebuild