By Jonk wa Mashamba
Editor-In-Chief
news@alexreporter.co.za
Some street vendors, mostly foreign nationals next to Pan African, had to close shop.
This after several stalls, including a hardware, were set alight next to the Mall on Wednesday night.
The flames resulted in massive damage.
One of the affected store owners, David Mashitatona (61), suspected that his store had been intentionally torched by rival group who allegedly targeted stores affiliated with the Dudula Movement.
By the time Mashamba Media arrived, Mashitatona had set beside his heavily damaged stock.
Some of the affected vendors were cleaning up the mess, while some vagrants took valuables to scrap yard.
He told us that the shops have no electricity.
“We don’t even use prima stoves in this place. This was the works of the enemy. It was someone who intentionally burned down our stores.
” I’m very shattered. I lost a lot there,” said the 16th Avenue resident from Limpopo.
He said he was thankful for Dudula Movement who showed up shortly after the fire.
He said that when he heard the heartbreaking news, he had just finished watching the news around 8pm.
It is not clear who and why the stores were set on fire. Six stalls were completely destroyed in fire.
Meanwhile, the Dudula Movement leader, Simon “Msayza” Rati has been arrested by the Alexandra Police on charges of public violence.
Spokesperson for the Johannesburg Emergency Services, Robert Mulaudzi said no injuries were reported.
“We responded to a fire incident at the Pan African Mall where a number of stalls were affected by the fire incident.
“There were no injuries reported during this fire incident.”
Mulaudzi said the cause of the fire was being investigated.
