Shack fire kills father and baby

Residents of Cambridge location have been left in shock over the tragic death of a father and his infant son in a shack fire early yesterday.

Akhona Nakani and his six-month-old baby were asleep in their shack when the fire started.

Nakani’s girlfriend and baby Thando’s mother, Thandiswa Mpinda, were at work at the time.

Police spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku said they were still investigating how it started.

Veliswa Tswele, who lives close by, said they did not know the cause as there was no electricity last night. “We tried to put out the fire and were beginning to leave when we realised one portion of the shack did not stop burning.”

Then she saw the bodies: “We will never forget that terrible scene.”

The frame of the shack remained standing and the roof was slightly caved in when Thandiswa first saw what used to be her home.

She was too distraught to speak to the Saturday Dispatch. One of her relatives, Mvuyo Mandlana, said the young couple had been living in the shack for a month: “Everything that has burned down here was new. They had been renting and decided to build their own shack. This has come as a terrible shock.... We do not even know how we are going to arrange the funeral. We have contacted Akhona’s parents in Dutywa.” He pleaded for help from authorities.

“We have been asking for development in this area and there has been none. I have seen about seven incidents like this one in this area and we all get shocked when it happens but no one ever does anything to help us. We feel deserted,” Mandlana added.

Community leader Peter Majoka said: “This family has lost a loved one and the community has lost a good man.”