Over 80 residents residing in a riverbed in Windhoek's Freedom Square were left destitute after 33 of their man-made shacks burned to the ground around midnight last night.

The fire left one resident seriously injured and admitted to intensive care at Katutura State Hospital.

Men, women, and children, all unemployed and otherwise homeless, are appealing for assistance.

Some say they have been forced to live here in a riverbed opposite the street from Jacob Marengo Secondary School for over 20 years now.