While trying to burn grass as a way of cleaning her stand, a resident of Mahatlani Village in the Hlanganani area left two families stranded, after their houses caught fire.

Mr Falaza Rikhotso was left without a place to stay, after the fire destroyed his only one mud-roomed rondavel. The incident took place at about 15:00.

According to him, it appeared if Ms Nkhensani Shibambu had set fire on the grass as a way of cleaning her new stand, but the fire worsened and eventually consumed the two rondavels.

Rikhotso said that all his belongings were burned inside the house; he was only left with what he was wearing at the time of the incident. He revealed that he was trying to start a garden in order to make a living since he is unemployed and food prices are very high, but what he had already planted was also burned.

“This is the worst experience in my life. All my belongings were burned inside the house. I don’t know what to do now. I am pleading with anyone who can rescue me from this situation,” said Rokhotso.

His neighbour, whose house was also burned down by the fire, Mrs Flora Tibane, is also unemployed. She said that she had lost a lot of things, including food, because the rondavel was also her kitchen. She added that amongst others, three bags of dried beans, a drum of maize meal and four bags of stored maize meal were also destroyed.  “The fire left me stranded and now my family does not have food to eat,” she indicated sadly.

Cllr Sabinah Rikhotso of the Makhado Municipality, together with the local headman of the village, visited the affected families on Thursday last week to assess the damage.

In an interview with Mirror, Rikhotso said that people must refrain from burning grass as it is dangerous. She added that it was very bad to see that poor people had lost their houses and valuable items.

The person who started the fire, Nkhensani Shibambu, said the incident was a mistake. She added that she had no intention to burn the houses. “I was only trying to clean my yard. I feel very bad about what happened,” she said.

The disaster and emergency team of the Makhado Municipality visited the affected families on Thursday last week to assess the damage. According to the spokesman for the Makhado Municipality, Mr Louis Bobodi, the municipality has already assisted the families with food parcels and some tents to stay in.