A fire erupted on Sunday at about 1 pm at Ubuntu Kraal in Orlando West.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
According to Augustino Gundane an employee at Ubuntu Kraal, he just saw flames and when he went closer to investigate he found that the thatch roof in one of the dining halls had caught fire.
It then spread all the way to the chapel and caught on to the reception area.
“The fire spread so quickly it started on the thatch roof and spread so fast. As soon as I saw what was happening I called the security guards to come and assist me in putting it out, but was just too big for us to put out. I then called the fire brigade,” he said.
The fire did not just destroy the dining area and the chapel but also destroyed more than seven hundred chairs and tables which were in the dining hall.
The chapel burnt to the ground destroying all that was inside.
“We tried to save what we could but were not able to save much. It saddens me so much to see what the late owner of Ubuntu Kraal Sidwell Nxumalo had worked so hard for burn to the ground,” said Gundane.
Nancy Nxumalo the sister of the late Sidwell Nxumalo, who now runs Ubuntu Kraal, said that she was not around when the fire started.
“I got a phone call alerting me of what had happened it came as a real shock to me. The fire was really bad it took more than 8 hours to put out. I will like to thank the residents who came to help put out the fire, it could have been even worse if they did not help us,” she said.
This is the second fire that has occurred at Ubuntu Kraal since the death of owner Sidwell Nxumalo.
According to Nancy Nxumalo the cause of the first fire still has not been established.
