Alleged Usindiso building arsonist tells court the charges against him ruining his life

JOHANNESBURG - The man accused of torching the Usindiso building in Johannesburg's CBD broke down in tears in court on Wednesday, saying that the charges against him were ruining his life.

Thirty-two-year-old Sthembiso Mdlalose took the witness stand in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on Wednesday, claiming that he lied about starting the blaze that killed 76 people.

This, despite a previous confession where he admitted to igniting the deadly inferno.

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Mdlalose was asked to read his confession statement in court, in which he detailed how he started the deadly fire.

As he read it aloud, he lost composure and broke down in tears, telling the court that everything in the statement was a lie.

He then threw the document to the ground and told the presiding judge that he could not be punished for what he claimed was a false confession.

"Pride and embarrassment. I feel so embarrassed that the whole world will know that I lied, using such an incident to save myself from myself."

In what he described as a fight for his life, Mdlalose said he wasn’t thinking straight when he confessed twice to starting the blaze.