BOPHELONG – In the early hours of August 29 a couple died in a mysterious shack fire.
While the cause of the fire is still unknown, their family seem to suggest foul play due to the manner the shack was engulfed by flames.
Basetsana Mashiya (24) and Moeletsi Ndara (31) were burnt beyond recognition and their charred bodies remain in the dilapidated one-room shack.
The couple was last seen on August 28 when they entered the shack.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, Ndara’s cousin Maele Ndara detailed how he was called to the scene.
“The shack was engulfed in flames when I arrived. Neighbours told me that they heard the hysteric cry of a woman around 04:00. When I got to the scene, all I could see was the burning body of my cousin,” he said.
“We battled the flames until the fire went out. After ripping apart the correlated steel, we saw two bodies,” he said.
Suggesting foul play, Ndara said “I’m not an expert, but the way the flames ripped through that shack, it could not have been a candle fire. There is also a suspicious substance at the entrance of the shack,” he said.
Mashiya’s sister, Patricia Sibeko, said they last saw the mother of one when she took her baby boy to his father.
“We received a call from her baby’s father that she left on Tuesday, August 20. We then received a call around 08:00 reporting that she was involved in a shack fire. We are devastated, especially because we just buried her sister in 2022. The wounds are still fresh, now we have to mourn Basetsana’s death,” she said.
Police and emergency personnel were at the scene.
Vanderbijlpark police have not yet confirmed the incident.
This is a developing story.
