A man has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder after he told the Khampepe Inquiry that he started the fatal fire that left 76 people dead and more than 100 badly injured. This comes after he made a shocking confession on camera at the Khampepe Inquiry into the cause of the fire in Marshalltown in the Joburg CBD last year August. The public inquiry into the cause of the fire led by retired judge Sisi Khampepe was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 31 August 2023.

The suspect was giving testimony at the inquiry yesterday when he dropped the bombshell. The 29-year-old man, who has not been named until he appears in court, said he had killed a man in the basement of the hijacked building on the night of the fire by beating him and strangling him after receiving an order from a Tanzanian drug lord staying in the same building. He said he then poured petrol on the man's body and set it alight. More than 70 people including children lost their lives and over 120 were badly injured when they tried to leave the building with some jumping from the five-storey building.

The suspect further said that when he set the building on fire, he was high on crystal meth, which he had obtained from a drug lord in the uSindiso building, whom he referred to as the 'Big Boss'. The suspect also told the inquiry that the building was a haven for criminality run by drug lords. He also testified that there were more bodies in the basement of the building which he referred to as a 'slaughterhouse'. The building which was reportedly hijacked had over 80 shacks with some of the dwellers telling ZiMoja that they bought them for as much as R15 000 while others were paying R500 rent monthly. Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the arrest. "The suspect was arrested in connection to Marshalltown fire which claimed the lives of 76 people in August 2023 at Johannesburg Central. The 29-year-old man was arrested after he confessed at the Commission of Inquiry for being involved in starting the tragic fire," she said. Nevhuhulwi said that the suspect is expected to appear before Johannesburg court soon on charges of arson, 76 counts of murder and 120 counts of attempted murder.