A jealous Katlehong lover burned himself and four innocent children to death after his girlfriend rejected him when he discovered her having an affair with another man.
Monaheng Moloi went looking for his sweetheart, but she was with another man. He invited her to come home with him, but she declined, leaving him enraged.
Moloi raced to his girlfriend’s residence in a rage, where he saw four children inside a shack. He set fire to the structure in a horrific act.
Olona Njozela (10), Lilitha Njozela (7), Ayabonga Thabang Njozela (5), and 4-year-old Nqobile Njozela were all burned alive, along with Moloi.
The family is devastated and seeking answers. Mfundo Lunika, a spokesperson for the family, recounted the incident to Zimoja:
“I had just come back from the taxi rank since I’m a driver, and I was sitting in my shack. I asked my partner to prepare food for me so I could eat and sleep. As she was preparing the bed, some boys passing by yelled that a shack was burning in our yard.
“When I went out to check, it dawned on me that four children were inside there. The flame was too harsh, and it was hard to gain entry. We tried to remove one side of the shack so we could gain access to the children, but we still couldn’t go in. The father of one of the children went in trying to save the kids, but he ended up being burnt. He is currently in ICU.”
Moloi’s children were not among those who died. The four children belonged to Lunika’s three sisters, he explained. Two of his sisters, who shared the same mother, were visiting for the long weekend. The situation is a complete disaster, leaving Lunika traumatised and haunted by thoughts of his nieces and nephew who are no longer alive.
The children could not be identified due to the severity of their burns. His sister did not sleep at home the night of the incident, and when Moloi saw her with another man, he begged her to return with him. Her reluctance most likely sparked Moloi’s retaliatory and furious acts, according to Lunika.
Moloi’s mother, Thabitha Moloi, last saw her son when she sent him to buy snuff for her. However, he never returned. The news of the fire and tragedy reached her when people called for her nearby.
Upon arrival, she witnessed the burning shack. Although she had never visited that particular house before, she knew her son’s girlfriend because he often brought her around. Thabitha is shattered and struggling to comprehend the devastating loss.
Ekurhuleni EMS spokesperson Maswati Mdluli confirmed the tragedy:
“When we arrived, the community had tried to put out the fire, but it was burning rapidly. Members managed to dampen the fire then a search was launched as we heard that there were possibly bodies in there. We found five bodies, and four of them were kids. The eldest was 10. There was also an adult body, a 31-year-old, but we are not sure whether it was a man or a woman. All the bodies were charred beyond recognition, they were scattered in two bedrooms.”
