Alleged Tembisa Hospital Arsonist Arrested After Confession, Set To Appear in Court

• Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi revealed that a suspect was arrested in connection with the burning of Tembisa Hospital
• The hospital's Accident and Emergency Unit was shut down after a fire broke out and damaged parts of it
• The suspect reportedly confessed and is expected to appear in court soon, and South Africans questioned the suspect's motive

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

TEMBISA, EKURHULENI — A suspect has been arrested in connection with the burning of Tembisa Hospital, which happened on 19 April 2025. The suspect is expected to appear in court soon.

Tembisa Hospital arson suspect arrested

According to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who posted on his @Lesufi X account, the suspect allegedly confessed to the crime, and a multi-disciplinary team from the South African Police Service picked him up for questioning. The suspect was allegedly initially an informant, and when questioned, the police discovered that he was the suspect. He reportedly confessed to burning the hospital and was detained.

What did his confession entail?

Lesufi said the suspect confessed to details including planning, payment, purchase of petrol used, preparation and executing the act. He said he entered the hospital premises through the fence and enlisted the help of an unconfirmed number of accomplices.

"This is work in progress," he said.

Read the X statement here:

A second fire broke out at Tembisa Hospital on 23 April, a few days after the initial fire gutted the Accident and Emergency Unit. The fire spread within the main outpatient department, and patients were evacuated from the fire and sent to a nearby health facility.

South Africans have questions

Netizens commenting on Lesufi's tweet discussed the revelation and had questions.

Nolali asked:

"According to him, what was his motive?"

Big Moss said:

"We have allowed this. People are burning government buildings and damaging government infrastructure just so they can get tenders. Harsher punishment and new laws should be introduced in parliament for such treason."

The Professional said:

"They work in small groups called cells. The enemy was always within."

Justice & Truth said:

"Years of neglect, incompetence, turning a blind eye to criminality, a limp-wristed fight against fraud, corruption and a lack of political will have put us in this cesspool. The rot is something else. The smell reaches the heavens. Shameful!"

Miskruier said:

"We need the boss to be arrested as well."

Mbongewni Ndlovu said:

"Something fishy is happening. A few years ago, Parliament was burned. The,n a building in the JHB CBD was burned by someone who allegedly confessed. Now it's the Tembisa hospital."

Hundreds evacuated as Table Mountain bursts into flames

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Table Mountain burst into flames and hundreds of residents were evacuated from the surrounding neighbourhoods in Cape Town, Western Cape. The fire was deliberately started on 25 April.

Firefighters managed to contain one of the fires, and the second fire spread after the winds picked up speed. Neighbourhoods that were affected included Noordhoek, Steenberg Estate and Clovelly.

Source: Briefly News