Cathcart arsonist sought for setting house alight with family in it

Law enforcement authorities in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, are in search of a suspect involved in an incident where a house was torched with people in it.

Where is Cathcart?

Cathcart is a small town in the Eastern Cape. It was named after Sir George Cathcart, governor of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, and for the most part, it’s a quiet and peaceful town. Due to the fact that it is situated on the N6, Cathcart gets a lot of traffic from travellers making their way to Queenstown.

Family wakes up to burning house

This may prove to be a difficulty for investigators, who are in search of an alleged arsonist. According to police spokesperson Captain Khaya Tonjeni, a family in Cathcart was woken up by the crackling noise of a house on fire, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

At this time, Captain Tonjeni would not be drawn into revealing the number of victims that were in the house. However, he did confirm in a statement, that “the family managed to escape unhurt.”

Unfortunately, there was very little they could do to salvage all the things they had left behind.

“The house, and with all the furniture to the value of R250 000, was burnt to ashes,” Tonjeni said.

While the cause of the fire is still a matter that has to be thoroughly probed, Cathcart police were confident that there was enough preliminary evidence to suggest that this was not accidental.

Consequently, a case of arson was opened and detectives have been hard at work, trying to track down the arsonist responsible for this ruthless crime.

“Police are following the leads and appeal to anyone who can assist with information that could lead to the arrests of the perpetrators to please contact [the] police,” Tonjeni pleaded.