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A Galeshewe family has lost a one room shack after it was destroyed by fire in Mpitsang
street on the afternoon of 9 December leaving behind only charred.
The shack, was used as an additional bedroom by the family of eight, as some of them sleep
in the newly erected RDP house in the same yard.
According to the family, they used to live in a traditional four roomed house, which had to
be demolished in 2024 after it experienced serious cracks, becoming a safety hazard.
The new RDP was built by government at the front part of the yard, which decreased in size.
The destroyed structure was used by Julia Setlhabi (62), Antoinette Moss (40) and three-
year-old Refilwe Moss while the rest of the family have been sleeping in the house.
Speaking to Roma Nna Media House, Setlhabi said she did not notice the fire until
neighbours alerted her.
“I could not even smell any smoke as I was sitting on the stoep at the font part of the house.
“It was the neighbors and those inside the house who saw the fire,” she said.
According to Moss, she saw the fire at 16:00 on Tuesday.
She initially suspected that the children might have been playing with matches.
“I went to check the matchsticks in the main house. It was two sticks left, same as the
previous day,” she said.
Moss explained that her sister spotted coming from the direction of the main house. By the
time they rushed out, the shack was already engulfed in flames.
Neighbors immediately intervened with hose pipes and buckets, managing to extinguish the
flames before the fire brigade arrived.
Moss said the shack had no electricity connection, but despite being put out, the fire
reigned at around 21:15, destroying anything that remained intact.
Moss says the family lost all their belongings, including clothing, identity documents and
vital asthma medication for her young child.
She said the police has advised her to go to Galeshewe Police Station to open a case, but she
has not yet managed to so as the family tries to recover from the devastation.
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