Online Reporter
Londiwe Moyo, Chronicle Reporter
A FAMILY in Old Pumula, Bulawayo, was left homeless after their house was gutted by fire in the early hours of the morning in what authorities suspect could be a case of arson.
The house, number A5719, reportedly belonging to Jeffery Mahlangu, was destroyed around 2am while the family was asleep inside.
Mahlangu said he was awakened by two loud explosions moments before the house was engulfed in flames.
“I heard two big blasts just outside my house and when I woke up I was surrounded by flames,” he said.
The family managed to escape the inferno, but most of their property was destroyed.
Mahlangu believes the suspected arson attack could be linked to the mysterious disappearance of his niece, Desire Buhle Mahlangu.
He said in the days leading up to the fire, the family had been receiving strange phone calls from unknown numbers, with callers demanding to know the whereabouts of Desire.
“They kept calling saying they were looking for Desire and accusing me of hiding her, but that is not true. The last time we saw Desire was a few years ago when she moved to Gwanda and since then we have had no contact with her,” said Mahlangu.
He said tensions escalated a day before the fire when a man identifying himself as Mandla visited their home claiming to have been Desire’s employer.
“The day before the fire we were visited by a man called Mandla who said Desire had been his employee in Gwanda and that she had suddenly disappeared. He said he would not rest until he finds her,” said Mahlangu.
Authorities have since launched investigations into the incident.
Mhlangano Moyo, the Chief Fire Officer for Bulawayo Fire and Ambulance Services, confirmed the fire and said preliminary investigations suggest the blaze was caused by a petrol bomb.
Firefighters attended the scene and managed to contain the blaze, although the house had already suffered extensive damage.
