Case reopened over Joburg fire that killed 76

The state has been given the go-ahead to reopen its case against the man accused of setting fire to a Johannesburg building in which 76 people died.

This is after discrepancies emerged over the identities of some of those who died.

Judge Cassim Moosa granted the application at the Palm Ridge High Court in Johannesburg.

Sithembiso Lawrence Mdlalose is charged with 76 counts of murder, along with attempted murder, arson and defeating the ends of justice.

Fire gutted the hijacked, five-storey Usindiso building in Marshalltown, in the Johannesburg CBD, in the early hours of August 31 2023.

Cutting a lonely figure in the dock in a dark padded jacket, Mdlalose waited to hear whether he would be convicted on the 76 murder charges against him.

But in a bizarre twist, the state brought an application to reopen its case, telling the court it could not prove the identities of all 76.

Irked by the request, Mdlalose clashed with his advocate Leonard Cindi, who had not opposed it, and rose to address Moosa out of turn.

He stormed out when the matter was adjourned, then returned to ask Cindi whether he was still acting for him.

The state had applied to lead further evidence after discrepancies emerged in the post-mortem reports.

A post-mortem report identifies the deceased and records how they died. In this case, the reports are the state's evidence that the people it says were murdered are the same people whose bodies were recovered from the building.

Moosa raised the discrepancies with both sides before he was prepared to rule.

He said refusing the application would have failed everyone with a stake in the case.

"It is the considered view of this court that if this application were not to succeed, it would be a travesty of justice, not only to both the parties, but to the victims as well as their relatives, the surviving relatives," he said.