Former City of Johannesburg mayor and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba is threatening to take legal action against the city over the of 74 people who died during a fire that broke out at the Usindiso Place of Safety for Women and Children building in Mashalltown in Johannesburg CBD on Thursday. The fire left 63 people injured and over 500 people left homeless.

During his first visit to the building today,an angry Mashaba said that when a life is lost, someone needs to be held accountable."There are people who are responsible for the lives that were lost in the incident. The incident could have been avoided if the city took action a long time ago. But the current government took me to court when I was fighting illegal immigrants who are occupying our buildings illegally in the city" he said.

"When I was the mayor of the City of Johannesburg, I discovered 600 buildings that were hijacked. I managed to expropriate 154 buildings for affordable accommodation.

In my quest, the ANC government, the Gauteng Premier and the Minister of Home Affairs at the time called me names and unleashed the South African Human Rights Commission on me," Mashaba said.

Mashaba says he will be speaking to lawyers to see if there is a case of culpable homicide. He says someone must be held responsible for the lives lost in the fire. "What is irritating about this whole thing is that the report is there. The report was brought forward after the city appointed a consultant to look into the illegal occupation of the city buildings. This is what makes me angry because even President Cyril Ramaphosa is aware of this matter but he came here pretending to care about this situation. All I am going to do is fight the city to be held responsible for the lives that were lost in that fire. I want the current government to look into their laws because they are the ones that are allowing foreign nationals to do as they please," he said.