Johannesburg, South Africa – Sibongile Majavava sits outside her small tent camp at Wembley Stadium, which is functioning as a shelter for the homeless. This is her third temporary home since a deadly fire devastated the building she lived in a year ago. The 34-year-old South African woman, her Tanzanian partner Muhdi, 36, and their small child have struggled to get back on their feet since the fire at Usindiso building in August 2023, which claimed 76 lives and left hundreds homeless.

One year later, surrounded by tents and makeshift shelters on the former sports stadium, Majavava and her partner feel hopeless and let down by those they thought would help them. “Life here is very hard,” said Majavava, who has no income and is concerned for her three-year-old due to the high crime rate in the shelter. She needs to buy shoes for her child, as there are used drug needles and other hazardous waste on the ground.

In 2018, the government installed container houses, water, electricity, and self-contained toilets in Wembley, which also houses survivors from the Cape York fire in 2017 and individuals evacuated from a dilapidated building known as Fattis Mansions. Fires in buildings have become common in Johannesburg, where hundreds of structures, referred to by city officials as “hijacked” buildings, have been taken over by criminal cartels. These groups subdivide rooms and rent them out illegally to poor and desperate people while failing to provide essential services such as water, electricity, or sewage, creating unsafe living conditions. Usindiso was in a similar state when the last deadly fire occurred.

An investigation has found the City of Johannesburg negligent in its treatment of Usindiso and 200 other similarly dilapidated buildings. “The city has failed to meet its constitutional obligation to provide decent housing,” said Siyabonga Mahlangu, a representative of the Inner City Federation (ICF), an advocacy group fighting against evictions in Johannesburg. Despite the horrific conditions in the hijacked buildings, activists like Mahlangu believe that the city’s solutions – such as the Wembley shelter – are not much better.

It has been six years since the first residents were moved to Wembley, which was originally intended as a temporary solution, but residents now feel forgotten. “The conditions in Wembley are not good at all,” Mahlangu said, comparing the tents to living on the street. Wembley is dusty, with trash accumulating near the makeshift homes, where young men drink alcohol in the middle of the day while children play nearby.

Edward Molopi, a senior attorney from the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI), indicated that the crisis in Johannesburg is part of a broader discussion about the city’s responsibility to provide alternative housing for those who are evicted. According to the law, if an eviction results in homelessness, the city must provide alternative accommodation, but authorities have failed to maintain and uphold places like Wembley.

The Usindiso building had a long and tragic history even before the fire in 2023. The former office building was rarely maintained, and after the fire, many homeless people were forced to live under very distressing conditions. Both the official death toll and an upcoming report from the inquiry commission emphasize the city’s accountability in this tragedy.

Since the fire, many survivors have struggled to make their lives work but often face barriers such as lack of identification and insufficient resources to seek help. Majavava still does not have her South African ID, making it difficult for her to access healthcare for her sick child.

In light of these challenges, it is clear that more effective solutions and support from the authorities are needed to assist those affected by this crisis. Without action, many risk becoming even more marginalized in a city already plagued by social and economic issues.