The Mahdia Dorm Fire Commission of Inquiry has interviewed three persons as it continues its probe of the fire that claimed the lives of 20 children, and left several more injured. The deadly fire took place back in May.

The Commission, which is chaired by retired Major General Joe Singh, has been in place for almost a month, and has already visited the scene of the tragedy and met with residents who live nearby.

In an interview with News Source, Secretary to the Commission, Javed Shaddick, said there is a reluctance by some persons to testify before the Commission out of fear.

He said the Commission wants persons of interest to know that there is absolutely nothing to fear in coming forward and offering information or evidence to the Commission.

 “This Commission of Inquiry is not to place blame on anyone, this is, as it says, an inquiry, to find out, factually, what happened, and it is within the terms of reference, and one of the greatest things about the inquiry, is the recommendations, what can be done to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. So, the inquiry is not something to fear,” Shaddick said.

Shaddick said the three-member Commission has received a number of documents and reports from Government Ministries and Agencies to aid in the completion of its work.

“We have been gathering information from all the ministries, and we have taken those information and all those reports that would be been written, and we are sifting through those, and cross referencing with our Terms of Reference to see which ones would be needed,” he explained.

Based on the information gathered, the Commission will be compiling a list of names of persons to offer testimony.

 “We have persons, who we took from the reports, and some of them have indicated that they are willing, and, there are other persons, who are, I should not say scared but we will have to make special arrangements for those persons to speak to the commission,” he said.

No date has been set for public hearings, however, Shaddick said that there is a possibility that the public hearings will commence mid -September.

Due to the sensitive nature of the Commission of Inquiry, it was explained that while some testimonies will be streamed live over the internet, those involving survivors of the fire will be held in-camera, and therefore would not be broadcast. (Svetlana Marshall)

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