Sema Fonkem 01 March 2026

Five children were reported dead after a fire broke out around 3am on Saturday 28, 2026 in an informal settlement in Shaka’s Head, Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal province.

According to reports, among the deceased are one-year-old twins, a three-year-old, a fourteen-year-old and a nineteen-year-old. The bodies of the five children have been transferred to forensics for examination.

The children were asleep in a separate room from their parents when the fire broke out. The mother, and another two-year-old sibling were rushed to the hospital to receive medical attention. The father survived the incident with minor injuries. .

Community members of Shaka’s Head in Stanger have expressed their disbelief when they arrived at the scene and saw the shack engulfed in flames.

Just moments before the fire started, the father had gone outside to warn a group of people who were drinking alcohol and having fun on a nearby property.

It is known that Shaka’s Head in Stanger is an informal settlement made up of individuals who have travelled from different regions of the country to seek employment in Ballito, an affluent costal town south of KwaDukuza Local Municipality.

The electrical connection in this informal settlement has been made illegally and unprofessionally. Fires are widespread in such areas and saving lives is extremely difficult due to lack of water, government, and private emergency services. Establishing safety measures is a signaifacnt challenge for municipalities dealing with similar incidents.

The KwaDukuza Local Municipality has pledge support for the family, while law enforcement is investigating the actual cause of the fire