‘I thought it was bomb’: Hawkers tell of their narrow escape in Joburg CBD explosion

Editor June 1, 2023

‘I thought it was bomb’: Hawkers tell of their narrow escape in Joburg CBD explosion

By The Sunday Times

SOUTH AFRICA: Hawker Samuel Mlambo was applying a screen protector to a cellphone for a customer on Wednesday afternoon when a huge explosion blasted them into the air.

“When we landed back on the ground, none of us cared about the transaction we were about to make. I ran into a block of flats across the road. I don’t know where the customer went. I have not seen him since. He had paid R20 for that screen protector.”

Mlambo, 26, from Vosloorus, was among those lucky to escape after a gas explosion ripped through Lilian Ngoyi Street in Joburg’s city centre, leaving one dead and 48 injured.

“I left my stock like that and waited at the flats for about six minutes before I went back to get my stock. I saw cars turned upside down and people trying to get passengers out of a taxi. I was scared, so I took my stuff and left,” Mlambo said.

He said he initially thought the explosion was a bomb.

By Friday, Mlambo was back selling on Rahima Moosa Street.

“There is nothing I can do. I am the breadwinner. My wife is dependent on the money that I make here. I am grateful to God that I miraculously survived,” said Mlambo, who has been selling goods on inner-city pavements for the past three years.

A few metres away, Sunge Lufane was selling socks.

“I heard a loud bang and I saw the cars on the road being lifted into the air, and I fell down,” she said.

“I saw that the road had been cut open. I then heard another loud bang and I saw the taxis falling down into the trenches. There were two explosions. It was something I have never seen before.

“After the second explosion I crawled to U-Save where I found shelter. I thought it was a bomb. It was a really scary experience.”

Lufane has been selling on the streets for a year. She was also back selling socks, but at a different spot, two days later.

“If they declare the streets safe, I will go back and sell again. It is what I do for a living,” she said.

The explosion ripped open a 400m stretch of the road, leaving the area without water and electricity.

Tonias Munzwa, 27, who also sells along Lilian Ngoyi Street, said he was shaken by the incident, having narrowly missed being flattened by a taxi.

“I heard the explosion and thought the taxi next to me had been hit by another vehicle. I ran around the block because I did not understand what was happening, only to meet a group of people running in the opposite direction. I joined them and ran back to where I had been selling. The group said they were running away because one of the buildings shook during the explosion and they thought it was going to fall,” Munzwa said.

When he finally went to the spot where he had been selling, all his stock was gone. Munzwa, who comes from Zimbabwe, sells shoe brushes, watch batteries, passport covers, earrings and socks.

At the time of the explosion, Munzwa had just made R150. Unlike his colleagues down the road, he has not returned to sell on the streets because he has no stock.

“I have nothing for the end of the month. I need to pay rent of R3,000 and I was planning to send money for bricks back home. I cannot do all of that now because I don’t have my stock. I have tried asking my brothers and friends to help me but none of them have the money. I am now contemplating selling my cellphone to buy stock.”

After seeing videos of what transpired during the explosion, Munzwa’s wife asked him not to go back to the streets but to look for a job.

Shop owner Paresh Chhotubhai confirmed that most businesses had shut since the incident and spoke of the effect the prolonged closure would have on businesses.

“All the businesses are closed and our day-to-day life is obviously going to be affected. It’s a sad day for Joburg and those staying here. We’ve opened the business with the permission of the police. They let us open the shop just to make sure that everything is OK. Now we are closing until we find out from the authorities what’s happening.”

William, who works at one of the shops on Rissik Street, said the explosion had hit workers hard, especially vendors operating on that stretch of road.

“Some people survive on that, so if they can’t come and ply their trade, they lose a lot. Shop owners are better off because government might do something for them, but for vendors it’s havoc,” he said.

‘I thought it was bomb’: Hawkers tell of their narrow escape in Joburg CBD explosion

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