Elisha Molefe

A North West family had a lucky escape when their house was completely burnt down early on Monday morning.

Montshonyane Mohapi, 52, of Kgomola village near Itsoseng township, said his house was burnt down hours after his elder son, Tumelo, 20, had had a fight with another young man over a girl at a local tavern.

No one was in the house when the incident happened.

Mohapi and his wife Kelebogile were in Mafikeng and their children had gone to sleep over at their grandmother's house nearby.

The family lost everything in the fire - from clothes and blankets to old family photographs that cannot be replaced.

Mohapi said he feared that their house could be torched again.

"I am afraid that whoever burnt my house can come back and finish what he has started," he said.

It has been alleged that a few minutes after Mohapi's house was gutted, the home of the girl who is involved in the love triangle was also torched, but her family were able to extinguish the fire before it could cause extensive damage.

Even the Itsoseng police could not help Mohapi when he went to lay a charge of arson.

They allegedly told him they were too busy attending to the public service strike.

"I was told to wait for the policeman who was at a crime scene. After more than eight hours of waiting I was told to come back the next day," Mohapi said.

He said the police came to his house on Tuesday and told him his case would only be attended to next Wednesday and advised him not to touch anything in the house as they would send forensic experts to look for fingerprints.

Now Mohapi has to tip-toe in his own house around what police have said is "evidence".

Itsoseng police spokesman Lebogang Mokgothu said it was unacceptable for the police to make a complainant to wait for a long time to make a statement.

Mokgothu said that Mohapi's complaint about the police's delay would be investigated.