Man who claims to have set Usindiso building fire alight expected in court

JOHANNESBURG - A self-confessed arsonist who claimed to have set a Johannesburg building on fire is expected to appear in court on Friday.  

Sthembiso Mdlalose was arrested in 2024 after confessing to setting the Usindiso building in Marshalltown alight, resulting in the deaths of 76 people.  

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Mdlalose is facing 76 counts of murder and 68 more for attempted murder.  

During a commission of inquiry into the Usindiso building fire, Mdlalose admitted that he was responsible for setting the five-story hijacked building alight.  

He stated that his intention was to destroy evidence of a man he had strangled to death by burning the body in the basement.  

Mdlalose explained to the commission that he hadn’t anticipated the fire would spread and kill tenants.  

On Friday, he will appear in the Johannesburg High Court after his case was moved from the Johannesburg Magistrates Court.