File
Two sisters appeared in court in Atteridgeville in Gauteng in connection with the deaths of five children in a shack fire in an informal settlement this past weekend.
The National Prosecuting Authority says 39-year-old Lindiwe Machaka and 37-year-old Zanele Machaka, were charged with culpable homicide.
This relates to the gruesome deaths of Lindiwe's two grandchildren, ages 1, and 2, and Zanele's three children, who were four, five, and six years old.
NPA spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, said the state alleges that the sisters, who live in an informal settlement near Laudium in Pretoria, locked the children inside a shack while they visited a tavern.
"It is alleged that, while the two were still out, the shack caught fire and all the children burnt and died on the scene.
The two women were arrested at the tavern the same day and are remanded in custody," she said.
Mahanjana said during their brief appearance on Tuesday, the matter was postponed to 5 September for a formal bail application.
