A Limpopo family has been left homeless after its 12-room house burnt down on New Year’s eve.
The Phandavudzi family at the Lwamondo area outside Thohoyandou was attending a New Year cross-over celebration when the house caught fire and burnt down.
They say the house caught fire after electricity was restored during load reduction.
The family started the 2023 year on a bleak note. They no longer have a roof over their heads. All eight family members have been left with nothing except the clothes they had worn on the day of the incident. They are being accommodated by relatives. The family says they need assistance to rebuild their house.
Family spokesperson Lorraine Phandavhudzi says assistance for essential needs, including food, and blankets would be appreciated as they are stranded.
Phandavhudzi says, “There is only one kid who is going to start Grade R, we had already bought the uniform. What we need is for the house to be fixed. They can fix the house for us so that we may have a roof over our head and food and clothes that is the thing that we need.”
Police are investigating the cause of the fire. A case of arson has been opened.
Phandavhudzi, however, says she suspects that the fire might have started when power was restored after rolling blackouts.
“So far we say thank you Lord for saving our lives. We are just speculating, maybe it is load shedding, the electricity came back, maybe something happened, we don’t know,” adds Phandavhudzi.
The damage is estimated at more than R1 million.
