A devastating fire tore through their home in the Ekuphumuleni Informal Settlement in Shaka’s Head, Ballito, in the early hours of Sunday.
A visibly emotional father, Sivuyile Noyila, said he never imagined his daughter’s familiar fist bump last Saturday night would be their last.
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A devastating fire tore through their home in the Ekuphumuleni Informal Settlement in Shaka’s Head, Ballito, in the early hours of Sunday, claiming five young lives.
Asamkele Somtsewu (19), Sonwabise Noyila (14), Amila Menemene (three), and Asamkela’s one-year-old twins, Sokhula and Solulele Somtsewu, died in the blaze.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Just hours earlier, Asamkele and her father had been side by side watching soccer.
The father and daughter, who shared a love for the Buccaneers, would react to every pass and near miss together.
Recounting the final hours before the tragedy, Noyila said a group of people had gathered at his shop to watch the game.
After the match, some stayed behind to play pool.
I was watching the game with Asamkele because we are both Orlando Pirates supporters. When the game ended, the night seemed ordinary. She came to me and said she was going to bed.
“She fist-bumped me, which is our usual way of greeting or saying goodbye, and she went to sleep with the other children,” said Noyila.
Later, he closed the shop and went to sleep in another room with his wife, but was woken up soon after by his eldest daughter screaming for help.
He said that, by the time they reached where the children were sleeping, they forced entry but it was already difficult to get inside.
“Neighbours came to help. My wife also managed to get inside and was able to save our two-year-old daughter, despite incurring slight injuries,” he said.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thulasizwe Buthelezi, on Sunday visited the family to assess the damage.
He also visited another family in Umdoni’s Nongoloza area, where three people died.
Accompanied by senior officials from the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC), KwaDukuza Mayor Sduduzo Gumede, Buthelezi conveyed condolences on behalf of the KZN government and oversaw immediate support to grieving families.
While the exact cause of the blaze is still under investigation, Buthelezi confirmed that the government would provide burial assistance and logistical support to ensure dignified funerals.
This includes transporting remains to the Eastern Cape, where applicable, and covering funeral expenses.
The pain these families are enduring is immeasurable. As the KZN government, we will not only comfort, we will act.
“We are providing burial support and logistical assistance now, while strengthening preventative measures,” he said.
Buthelezi has directed the PDMC to begin a pilot installation of smoke detectors in affected settlements in KwaDukuza, as part of targeted early warning interventions aimed at reducing fire-related incidents.
He also instructed officials to fast-track co-ordinated action with the municipality and relevant departments to address basic service challenges raised by the community, including water access and other risk factors that heighten vulnerability to fires.
Ekuphumuleni has over 1 000 informal settlement residents, who moved into the area in 2020 and have no access to basic services like water.
Chairperson of Abahlali BaseMjondolo in the area, Ongama Mncameni said this was the first time they’ve had a fire that claimed lives.
“When we moved here, our plan was that no one should have their homes attached to another in the area, to prevent fire spreading to many shacks if there is one.
“The community is emotional,” he said.
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Earlier on Sunday, the MEC visited two households in Nongoloza under the Umdoni Local Municipality, where a separate structural fire claimed the lives of Sanele Cibane (37), Lungelo Cibane (30) and Zamokuhle Dlamini (33).
Buthelezi extended condolences to the Cibane and Dlamini families and directed the PDMC to provide structured assistance without delay.
