The Enoch Mgijima Municipality’s historic art gallery in Komani, Eastern Cape burnt down last night.
Municipal spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa said the cause of the fire was not known. The fire department would conduct an investigation today.
Kowa said the building had bee unoccupied while the municipality was in negotiations with potential occupants in the public and the private sectors.
He said neither files nor assets were kept in the building as it was never used for municipal administration since 2016, when the Tsolwana, Inkwanca, and Lukhanji municipalities were amalgamated to form the Enoch Mgijima Municipality.
The municipality was recently known for its controversial R15 million Lesseyton Sports Facility which received a massive backlash when it was unveiled last week.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) has launched a probe surrounding the controversial construction of the Lesseyton Sports Facility.
Images of the “completed” stadium have been headline news and trending on social media, showing the substandard sports field, which was initially budgeted for R22m and cost R15m to construct.
Hawks national spokesperson Brigadier Nomthandazo Mbambo said the probe came after a complaint was lodged against the municipality, “following a R22m tender that was awarded for building the stadium”.
Just like the images of the field were posted on social media, a video of the fire also circulated, alleging that the fire was intentional because “they wanted to destroy the R15m evidence”.
Enoch Mgijima Municipality building burnt down last night.#R15MillionStadium
Video Supplied pic.twitter.com/zOpc2KGGiT— Sisonke Mlamla (@SISONKE_MD) October 12, 2021
They say there were no files or any assets kept in the building as it was never used for Municipal administration since the amalgamation of Tsolwana, Inkwanca and Lukhanji Municipalities to form Enoch Mgijima Municipality in 2016.
— Sisonke Mlamla (@SISONKE_MD) October 12, 2021
-Cape Argus
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