Shushwana villagers in Tora A/A in Ngcobo are in shock after a grandmother and her four grandchildren died when their home went up in flames on Monday night.
An 11-year-old child managed to escape unharmed.
Nowatu Ngalo, 73, Asiphumeze Ngalo,10, his brother Simamkele, nine, and their cousins Luthando Ngalo, five, and Kungomusa Oglie, two, were asleep when the four-roomed house caught fire.
Young Ayabonga Ngalo managed to escape after he climbed out a window.
He alerted neighbours, who rushed to the scene to try help.
Distraught family members said they suspected the fire could have been caused by a faulty electricity meter box.
In October, villagers in Bhekileni, not far from Shushwana, buried two young siblings, Methuli, 10, and Akhumo Bamla, three, after their house caught fire.
A traumatised Ayabonga, who is in grade 6, said he had been awoken by a loud thud.
Moments later, he opened his eyes to find the house engulfed in flames.
“Umakhulu [grandmother], who was sleeping in another room with Kungomusa, was already up and trying to wake Asiphumeze,” he said.
“I got up and smelt the smoke inside was getting worse.
“I could hear Kungomusa screaming and I opened a window and jumped out.”
Eastern Cape provincial police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said an inquest docket had been opened.
The cause of the fire had not yet been established.
A relative, Phumzile Ngalo, said none of the family members had permanent jobs and hoped the government would assist them to bury the five victims.
Neighbour Nolusindiso Ngomana, 63, reached the house to find the four children’s bodies laid out in the yard.
Her friend, Nowatu, was still talking but badly burned.
“We called an ambulance which arrived about an hour later.
“Nowatu told paramedics she was in great pain.
“They rushed her to All Saints Hospital where she later died.”
She described her friend as well-loved in the village.
Ngomana said the entire village was in shock.
She hailed brave Ayabonga for his valiant efforts to try save his family.
It is all too heart-wrenching. These were my only children
Asiphumeze and Simamkele’s distraught father, Siyabonga Ngalo, 31, said he was in shock after losing his two boys, their grandmother and cousins.
“I am still trying to make sense of why they had to die this way.
“We had plans but now we find ourselves having to prepare for their funerals.
“It is all too heart-wrenching. These were my only children.”
Luthando’s mother, Siwaphiwe Ngalo, 28, said she had last spoken to her firstborn child on the phone on Sunday night.
Luthando had told her he was ready to start school and wanted her to buy him a school uniform.
Mbalentle Oglie, 18, Kungomusa’s mother, was preparing to host a surprise birthday party for her son on December 12.
“I was born in December and so were Luthando and Siwaphiwe.
“So we were going to have a huge birthday for all of us. Now this day will only serve as a painful reminder.”
Ward 3 councillor Sivuyile Dlodlo said house fires were of concern in the area.
Dlodo said the municipality’s disaster unit was visiting schools teaching pupils about the dangers of fires.
Community leader Mthetheleli Kumsha said: “We are still in shock. This is the first time I have seen four children lying dead with their grandmother.
“Imagine five coffins in one household. We are all distraught.”
He said they wanted social workers to provide counselling for the remaining family members.
At least 23 people have died in house fires in 2023 in the Eastern Cape.
These include the June deaths of brothers and traditional circumcision initiates Elethu and Inathi Dume and their friend Azasakhe Jeremiah, all 17, who died after their ibhoma (initiation hut) caught fire in Mdantsane.
In July, three sisters undergoing the Intonjane ritual — Nozuko, 46, Fundiswa, 41, and Ntombizakuthi Mpongoma, 37 — died after they were trapped in a locked building which caught fire in Tsomo.
In September, Noncedo Tonono, 40, her three children Uzole, eight, Uncedo, six, and Sinegugu, three, died after their home in Tshabho near Ntabozuko caught fire.
On the same day, Thembisa Gayiya, 30, her four children, Vezokuhle, 12, Asonwabe, nine, Azothule, four, and Luphelo, three, as well as Gayiya’s boyfriend, Bongani Bengo, died when their home in Missionvale, in Gqeberha, caught fire.
DispatchLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.