South African police have apprehended a man alleged to have started the fire that killed more than 70 people in a hijacked building in downtown Johannesburg in August.
According to the Police on Wednesday, the 29-year-old man admitted to this during an inquiry tasked with finding those responsible for the blaze.
The yet-to-be named is expected to appear before a Johannesburg court soon on charges of arson, 77 counts of murder and 120 counts of attempted murder.
The tragic blaze is one of the worst disasters in living memory in South Africa’s economic hub. The fire broke out on August 31 in a tumbledown building filled to bursting with mostly foreign migrants. Majority of the victims were burned beyond recognition.
The tragic deaths shed a beam on the unsafe conditions in which a lot of poor people live in Johannesburg’s city centre, where dozens of buildings have been deserted and governed by criminal groups who charge fees for people who stay there.
