Life inside a ‘hijacked’ building


A member of the K9 unit walking with the dog at the scene of a deadly blaze in Johannesburg. — Reuters

LIKE many impoverished residents of downtown Johannesburg, Sihle Dube (pic) had rented a tiny room from someone who didn’t actually own it, in a rundown building that was becoming a trash-strewn haven for drugs and crime.

On Aug 31, he awoke to a bang at 2am – one of the few things he would remember about that night was seeing the time on his phone – and jumped up to check the entrance to his apartment.

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