Manzini– The chairperson of the Bhunu Mall Board has declined to comment on allegations that the mall had been declared unfit for operations following a fire incident that affected the building’s second floor last year.
This follows the death of an employee of Identity Clothing after a section of the mall’s roof collapsed on Tuesday evening, trapping her beneath the rubble.
The employee was found at around 4:20am yesterday following an overnight search and was taken to a health facility at about 5am, where she was pronounced dead.
The roof collapse occurred at around 5:30pm on Tuesday, with the affected section housing Identity Clothing.
Heavy machinery was brought in to clear the collapsed wall and debris as rescue teams worked through the night to establish whether the employee could be found beneath the rubble.
Following the incident, allegations emerged that engineers had previously raised concerns about the condition of the mall after the fire that affected the second floor last year, with claims that the entire mall was not fit for operations.
When approached for comment on the allegations and to clarify whether the mall had previously been declared unsafe, Bhunu Mall Board chairman Lombuso Dlamini declined to respond to them.
Dlamini said the board did not respond to allegations, arguing that there would always be various allegations surrounding such incidents.
“We do not respond to allegations. There will always be all sorts of allegations,” he said.
He, however, said the mall would issue a public statement on the matter.
The chairperson response comes as questions are likely to mount over the circumstances surrounding the collapse, particularly whether any structural concerns had been raised before the incident.
Meanwhile, the mall reopened on Wednesday morning, with some shops resuming operations despite a sombre mood following the death of the employee.
Cleaners were seen clearing and tidying areas affected by the collapse, while workers and shoppers gradually returned to the mall.
Some sections remained under cleaning as businesses worked towards resuming normal operations.
Police, the Eswatini National Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services and the Manzini Municipal Council attended the scene following the collapse.
The cause of the collapse had not been established at the time of publication, with investigations expected to shed more light on what led to the incident.
The death of the Identity employee has now shifted attention to the safety and structural integrity of the shopping complex, with the board expected to provide its promised public statement.
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