A Durban based non-government organisation has condemned what it calls a socio-economic circumstance of overcrowding after five family members burnt to death in their flat in an alleged arson attack in Phoenix, north of Durban.
The five were part of a family of 12 who shared the two-bedroomed flat.
The seven remaining family members who were also in the flat when the incident happened managed to escape without injury. A 57-year-old man accused of the attack sustained multiple burns.
He is receiving treatment in hospital under police guard. Phoenix Child and Welfare Society Director, Aroona Chetty, blames unemployment.
“Lots of people are unemployed. Lots of people have lost their jobs because of COVID and the looting. So look, there are lots of families that are in this kind of circumstances, where the house is overcrowded. Look, it’s very sad that this has happened, but of course, if there were fewer people maybe it would have been easier to get out,” says Chetty.
