A brave pregnant woman made headlines when she rescued her four children by squeezing them out of the burning house through a small window, after her RDP house was doused with petrol and set alight last week.

A single and unemployed parent, Mbudzeni Nemushada (39) of Miluwani Unit C, near Thohoyandou, said she still can’t believe that she and her kids escaped from the deadly fire that reduced everything in her house to ashes.

"I don’t know why people wanted to wipe me and my family out, because I never did anything wrong. We do not deserve to die such a painful death, even if we might have wronged someone. The person who set the house on fire was sure that we were all going to die, but I thank God because we managed to escape the angry, powerful flames," said the worried mother, who was sitting outside when Mirror visited her.

The children, whose clothes and school books were destroyed by the fire, are Pfunzo (18), who is in Grade 11 at Thohoyandou High School, while Mufhi (10) and Rilinde (9) are in Grade 4 and 1 respectively, at the local Tshishonga Primary School. The youngest child, Urangani, is four years old.

The shocked mother added: "We do not have food, clothes, blankets and a place to sleep. The books of my kids have also been destroyed by the fire and everything has been reduced to ashes. Life is tough but we only look to the Lord because we know that He is the only provider."

With tears of sadness on her face, Mbudzeni explains what happened on the fateful Wednesday last week. "We did not go to bed early on Tuesday evening as we were watching movies on television. At about midnight, we heard footsteps moving around the house, but I ignored them. We then went to sleep in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. I continued hearing the footsteps and after some few minutes, the whole house was on fire. The fire was very powerful. The smell of petrol was all over the house and I called the kids. Everyone was confused and we started crying, while the fire was becoming worse."

The mother said she went to the toilet and pushed open the small window, which fell to the outside. "My children were crying and the flames were very angry. I picked each one of them up and squeezed them through the small window, not caring that they would fall outside. After I had squeezed all of them through, I also squeezed myself out and seconds later, the whole house was engulfed in flames. Two petrol containers were found thrown just near the door."

She said fire extinguishers came at about 03:00, but the fire had already destroyed everything. "We were taken to hospital for some checkups but were released immediately. I was only worried that my unborn child would be affected, but I was happy that God worked miracles. We do not have anywhere to sleep and eat, hence we urge community members to assist us with food, clothes and the repairs for our house."

Regional police spokesperson Capt Mashudu Malele has confirmed the incident and said the police are investigating a case of malicious damage to property. Meanwhile, a suspect has been arrested. Caroline Mashau (36) appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with the incident and she was released on bail of R1 000. The case has been postponed to November 15.

Community members who would like to help the family can call 072 776 8233 or 076 983 4653.