Millions of rands worth of damage was caused when the only Nando’s outlet in the Thulamela municipal area was completely gutted by a mysterious fire last weekend.

Customers had to dash for dear life and left unfinished meals whilst others ran with order slips after the shop was engulfed by raging flames.

Ms Hulisani Ngobeni, the owner of the outlet, said the fire broke out while her staff were busy preparing orders for customers. Ngobeni said she was alerted to the fire by staff and she rushed to the shop, only to find it already engulfed in flames. “We lost everything, all the stock, equipment and some furniture; we only managed to salvage a few chairs here,” she said

She said it was too early to speculate on the exact amount in terms of damage but conceded that it would amount to millions of rands. The good news is that the business is insured and all staff will not lose their jobs, but Nando’s lovers will have to wait a little longer while the outlet is being rebuilt.

Mr Jonathan Mathoni, a close family member and a staunch Seventh Day Adventist Church member at Shayandima, said they were at church when they received a call that the shop was on fire. “We suspended all the activities and rushed to the scene, only to find that it was already gutted. We just watched on helplessly as it was razed to the ground,” he said.

A regular at the shop, Masindi Mudau, who was at the shop when the incident happened, said she had just started enjoying her meal when she started smelling something burning.

“Before I could ask what was happening, I heard a voice shouting that we should move out of the shop as it was burning, I did not even have time to take my meal with me as the first thing that came to my mind was my life,” she said.

Musoliwa Mashau said he was at the counter placing an order when the fire broke out. ”Just have a look; I am still holding my order slip. One thing is for sure: I will go home hungry as the shop has burnt down,” he said. Mashau said it was a sad day for those who love Nando’s products like himself. “We do not even know where the nearest other outlet is. We depended on this outlet for our needs,” he said.

Mr Alex Nemakonde, community services manager at Vhembe District municipality, who happened to be at the scene, said the department was disturbed by the spate of fires that had become like a plague in the district. “We had to recall all our staff to come back from their leave to come and be on standby to help contain the rampaging fires in our area. We are going to institute an investigation into this fire and we will forward our findings to our executive mayor, Cllr Falaza Mdaka.”

The Thohoyandou CBD has become a scene of many mysterious fires: a large supermarket, Shoprite, burnt some years ago and it took a long time to rebuild; a complex comprising hawkers’ stores was also burnt, leaving many hawkers bankrupt and their equipment destroyed; not long ago, the well-known Madina Supermarket was gutted and all stock was completely burnt.

The spokesperson for the Limpopo police in Vhembe, Captain Mashudu Malelo, confirmed the incident and said they were investigating the fire in order to find the its exact cause.