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Okahandja Family Counts The Losses After Shack Fire

Aurelia Afrikaner - 12 Jan 2026
A backyard shack in Peter Katjivivi Street, Okahandja, was reduced to ashes on Thursday evening, leaving a family with nothing but the clothes they were wearing and the resolve to start again.The fire broke out at around 19:00 on Thursday (8 January) while Enginie Pieter (59) was at church with her daughter, Mahe Pieter (22). By the time neighbours noticed the flames and rushed to help, the shack was already fully engulfed. Important documents, furniture, clothing and cherished personal belongings were destroyed.When relatives returned to the scene on Friday morning (9 January), they tried desperately to salvage whatever they could, pouring water over the smouldering remains as a few items continued to burn.“We were still busy with buckets the next morning after the fire had already done its damage,” a family member said. “You keep hoping something survived, even when you know it didn’t.”Cause still unknownInitial speculation suggested a gas bottle may have caused the blaze, but the family disputes this. When they returned the following morning, the gas bottle was found intact and undamaged. According to relatives, it was empty at the time the fire started. The cause of the fire remains unknown.Among the losses were both mobile phones belonging to the mother and daughter, as well as all of Mahe’s nursing uniforms and study materials. The young woman is currently training to become a nurse.‘Now it’s our turn’Sitting on the ground with her knees drawn close, eyes red and swollen from tears, Mahe told Network Media Hub that the family had lost everything. Yet even in heartbreak, moments of gentle, bittersweet humour surfaced.“She never survives funerals or parties because she’s always helping with utensils,” a relative said softly, managing a faint smile. “She was always the one helping us out. Now it’s our turn.”The mother was taken to hospital on Thursday evening after receiving news of the fire. When Network Media Hub visited the family on Friday, she was still hospitalised and receiving treatment for shock.Neighbours described the scene as devastating. Rosalia can be contacted on 081 234 1466 by anyone wishing to assist the family.As the smoke clears and the ashes cool, the family now faces the daunting task of rebuilding their lives. For now, they are holding on to one another — and, as one neighbour remarked with quiet irony, “at least the church service ended early for a reason no one wanted.”