‘I am grateful that the hunters have come forward as an organised collective to try and clear their names’.
Chris Pappas, Mayor of uMngeni Municipality, has committed to working with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to unearth the source of the Midlands fire that killed seven firefighters.
Pappas met with a group of hunters this weekend from in and around the Mpophomeni, Emaswazini and Boston areas who have been implicated in the fire without any evidence.
In a statement, Pappas said the hunters raised concerns about the manner in which they have been portrayed to the public in relation to devastating fire.
“Authorities on the scene indicated that the fire was allegedly started by hunters, however there was no evidence of such provided at the time. Other reasons that were given were that a controlled burn got out of control, there was a backburn that trapped the firefighters, or that the contracted firefighters were poorly trained for emergency situations.
“What remains is that there is no conclusive evidence that has been made public of the cause of the fire that led to the deaths of the contract firefighters.
“The hunters committed to helping to get to the bottom of what caused the fire and how 7 people died. Many of the people who died are relatives or close community members of the hunters,” he said.
Pappas said while there are many issues, opinions, and experiences with these hunters it was his job as the mayor to meet with any concerned group.
“I am grateful that the hunters have come forward as an organised collective to try and clear their names in this incident as well as to assist in getting closure for all.
“I will proceed to enquire with the SAPS about the ongoing case to ascertain if there is any evidence to suggest that it was a fire that came from hunters on the day or another cause as mentioned above,” the mayor declared.
The Mercury