APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) South African police have arrested a man who has allegedly confessed to starting a fire that killed at least 76 people last August in Johannesburg.
Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said the 29-year-old unnamed man was arrested on Tuesday on 76 counts of murder and 120 counts of attempted murder after he confessed to a commission of inquiry set up to probe the fire.
He refused to provide details of the man’s reported confession in fear of his safety.
The fire, which tore through an overcrowded four-story “hijacked” building in the early hours of August 31 last year, killed migrants looking for greener pasture in the economic hub of the country.
With no place to live in Johannesburg, these migrants illegally occupy rundown government buildings and pay rent to gangsters who dealt in drugs and extortion.
The commission’s hearings had been live-streamed — but the man testified behind closed doors out of fear that gang leaders who had been operating out of the building would have him killed.
NM/jn/APA