Four hawkers who operate stalls at the Elim Market, next to the Elim Shopping Complex, are still trying to recover from the damage after their stalls and all their stock and equipment were destroyed in a mysterious fire that broke out on the evening of Thursday, 28 September.
Witnesses reported a sudden and fast-spreading blaze, leaving the hawkers with little time to save their belongings. They called the Vhembe Fire Brigade, but the fire had already destroyed everything by the time the fire fighters arrived.
One of the hawkers, Ms Roina Ngobeni (55), said she had received the news at around 19:30, while she was at home. She could not bear the thought of losing all her stock, so she rushed to the scene, praying for the safety of her daughter, who was still attending Ngobeni's stall. "Fortunately, I found my daughter safe, but everything was burnt to ashes," she said.
The cause of the fire remains a mystery, which adds to the affected hawkers' frustration and pain. They do, however, suspect that nyaope addicts might have been involved as these addicts have apparently stolen some of the hawkers' stock in recent weeks.
Ms Julia Madaba, the chairperson of Elim Market, said the estimated damage caused by the fire amounted to around R16,000. "What's disheartening is that, while the fire was burning, local people were standing around taking videos, instead of offering assistance," she said.
This tragedy is a devastating setback for the affected hawkers, who had invested their savings and hard work into their businesses and depended on them to provide for their families. They are pleading for assistance to help them repair the damage.