Botha Sigcau Building in Mthatha was gutted by fire on Tuesday night.
Image: IOL
THE Eastern Cape Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) was working to find an alternative space to provide services to residents after the Botha Sigcau Building in Mthatha, which housed almost all government departments and carried a rich history, was destroyed in a fire.
According to the Mthatha residents, the 11-floor building carried historical significance as it was the main office of the now-defunct Transkei government, and it was where General Bantu Holomisa, who was leading the Transkei Defence Force, successfully unleashed a coup against the Bantustan’s Prime Minister Stella Sigcau on December 30, 1987.
Among all the 12 provincial government departments, the building housed nine of them, which included Health, Education, Social Development, Transport, and the Deeds Office.
A probe is under way after a fire broke out at the Botha Sigcau Building in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday.
Image: X / Screenshot
Mthatha town is the capital of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality, whose spokesperson, Olwethu Mabovula, said on Wednesday that the fire destroyed the building from the second to the 11th floor.
“The fire was still burning this morning, but it has been extinguished, and there is only smoke left.
“The structure appears strong when looking from outside and may still be repairable, but I am not sure,” she said.
Mabovula said the first floor, which is occupied by the Department of Education, was partially damaged.
She said the municipality was alerted to the fire at about 7pm, and firefighters quickly jumped into action.
“This has caused anxiety to a lot of people because this building has spent many decades serving them,” she said.
DPWI spokesperson Vuyani Nkasayi said the cause of the fire could not be confirmed as the investigation was still under way.
“We are going to meet as all affected stakeholders today (Wednesday) and later communicate with the media,” he said.
Nkasayi said the DPWI would work on relocating the departments.
“What is important to us is to make sure there is continuity of services.
“Therefore, all affected departments are going to meet with Public Works so that we can establish a temporary arrangement,” said Nkasayi.
Holomisa, on behalf of his party, the United Democratic Movement, on Wednesday, described the burning of the historical building as a “profound sense of loss”.
He said the building was a structure that stood as a cornerstone of the country’s political and administrative history.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa expressed sadness following the burning of the Botha Sigcau Building, which used to be his headquarters when he was the military ruler of the Transkei government.
Image: Independent Media Archives
“And one from which far-reaching decisions were taken under the leadership of Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima, including the establishment of the University of Transkei, an institution that has produced generations of outstanding academics and professionals, particularly in the fields of law, medicine, and commerce, with many individuals who are now household names in South Africa being, in one way or another, a product of the legacy rooted in that building,” he said.
Holomisa said the building will be remembered as not merely a structure of bricks and mortar, “but a living symbol of governance, transition, and the resilience of the people of the Transkei”.
He said that from 1975, the building housed successive administrations, including leaders such as Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima, Chief George Matanzima, Princess Stella Sigcau, and himself.
“Within its walls, critical government departments operated, including Military Council Offices, Justice, Police, Intelligence, Defence, and Foreign Affairs, delivering essential services to countless communities.”
He said when he assumed his leadership of Transkei in 1987, the building hosted many delegations from across the world, and through decisions taken in the building, many political activists were allowed to come and hide in Transkei.
“The building became a place of refuge, dialogue, and political engagement, where leaders of various movements and representatives of the South African Council of Churches gathered in pursuit of peace and unity.
“It was in this same building that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) leadership, led by then Secretary General Sydney Mufamadi, engaged with us to allow Cosatu to operate in Transkei after having been prohibited under previous administrations.
“It was within this same historic building that the decisive action was taken to expel the South African Ambassador to Transkei after he permitted his residence to be used as a launching pad by South African security forces in an assassination operation linked to the Mpendulo household in Northcrest, a move that reflected a firm stance to protect the sovereignty and stability of the Transkei.”
He said the burning of the building was the destruction of a historic site, which gave the local people access to essential services.
“The building has long served as a hub for government service delivery, and its loss risks depriving communities of critical support.
“Whether under the administration of the former Bantustan government or within the democratic dispensation, this building has always served the people. It would be a tragedy if we are witnessing the last chapter of its existence without a commitment to preserve its legacy and replace its function with urgency and dignity,” said Holomisa.
Former Pan African Congress of Azania (PAC) councillor Pasika Nontshiza, who was a Mthatha-based activist for the Struggle against apartheid, recalled an incident of the former Transkei Defence Force (TDF) Lieutenant Colonel Craig Duli, who, through the support of the apartheid South African Defence Force, forcefully gained entry into the Botha Sigcau Building in an attempt to overthrow Holomisa.
“It was in the very same building where there was an attempted coup, which was suppressed mainly by a combination of PAC’s Azanian People's Liberation Army and ANC’s uMkhonto weSizwe forces working hand-in-hand with the TDF,” Nontshiza said.
Cape Times