Four days before the defendants are due to go on trial over the catastrophic nightclub fire in North Macedonia’s town of Kocani, the families of the victims, attending a concert by the popular hip-hop duo DNK, marched once again through the streets of Skopje on November 15.

Their steps were slow, but their voices firm, carrying a message that has echoed for eight months: establish the truth, expose the failures and deliver justice.

At the protest in Skopje, hundreds of participants, dressed in black, held a massive banner displaying the faces of the victims.

The march began at Makedonija Square, moved toward parliament, and ended in front of the Criminal Court, where the trial is scheduled to begin on November 19. Citizens from Skopje also joined the procession, mingling silently among the grieving families.

In front of the parliament, Natalija Gjorgieska, the widow of singer Andrej Gjorgieski from DNK, addressed lawmakers. Andrej, 43 years old, died in the fire while trying to save the lives of his young fans.

Gjorgieska's voice trembled, but her message was clear: “A tragedy can happen to anyone and no one is safe if the institutions do not do their job.”

She demanded that MPs initiate an oversight hearing and create a special inquiry commission to launch an independent investigation into the disaster at the Pulse nightclub.

“Why were the institutions late? We demand that the truth be determined by a special inquiry commission,” she said in front of journalists.

“The investigation so far has been incomplete, without answers and unclear circumstances, and the truth is hidden. All facts should come to the surface and political and official responsibility should be found.”

To her, the Kocani fire represents a profound violation of the most fundamental human rights: the right to life, the right to safety and the right to timely and effective action by state institutions.

How a firetrap became a nightclub

As the families marched, their anger was rooted not only in grief but in the belief that the tragedy was preventable.

The fire, which broke out on March 16 inside the Pulse discotheque, claimed 63 lives — most of them young adults aged 16 to 24. Over 190 people were injured, many severely. It remains one of the deadliest tragedies in the country’s modern history, and for many, a symbol of deep systemic decline.

Most victims died on the spot, suffocated by toxic smoke or trapped amid the stampede triggered by the fast-spreading flames. A few fought for their lives for days or months afterward.

One of the final victims to succumb was Vladimir Blažev-Panco, a member of DNK. His death in mid-October, at the Sistina private hospital, came after seven months of agonising struggle.

His wife, Maja Blaževa, shared a heartbreaking message on Facebook after his passing.

“You were the ones who gave me seven months of the opportunity to hug and say everything we haven’t said to each other all our lives,” she wrote at the time, thanking the hospital staff who had become her “second home” during the ordeal.

The main reason for the public anger is the question: How did Pulse, a place that was unsafe and unsuitable, ever receive permission to operate as a nightclub?

The building that housed Pulse had previously been used as a carpet warehouse — a structure wholly unsuitable for mass gatherings, let alone loud concerts and pyrotechnic displays.

The facility had been approved only for light industry, not for catering or entertainment.

At 2:35 a.m., during the height of the performance, sparks from indoor pyrotechnics hit the club’s flammable ceiling, starting a fire that quickly spread as smoke filled the room. Chaos erupted in the overcrowded club, which was officially allowed to host about 500 people but may have held over 1,000.

With only one exit, panic turned into a stampede. People near the door tried to escape, while others were trapped or crushed, and many inhaled thick smoke before they could get out.

Interior Minister Pance Toškovski later confirmed a series of serious violations, including that Pulse was operating in an unsuitable building without emergency exits, using illegal pyrotechnics, lacking enough fire extinguishers and functioning without a valid safety permit.

Yet despite acknowledging these failures, Toškovski did not resign.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski of rightwing VMRO-DPMNE, which returned to power in June 2024, went even further. He publicly characterised the event not merely as a tragedy, but as a “mass murder” driven by corruption, bribery and institutional indifference.

Current senior officials, however, placed responsibility on previous governments.

A crucial test for the judiciary

This court process is expected to be a defining moment for North Macedonia’s justice system, which suffers from chronically low public trust and accusations of political influence.

The indictment is extensive: 34 individuals and three legal entities, ranging from former ministers and mayors to inspectors, company officials and nightclub administrators. The scope underscores the depth of systemic dysfunction that may have contributed to the tragedy.

A group of six human rights organisations announced that it will monitor the proceedings closely, adding another layer of public scrutiny.

The indictment itself was filed on July 2, yet the court took until October 3 to fully approve it — longer than the actual investigation, an unprecedented delay by the judiciary.

State public prosecutor Ljupčo Kocevski confirmed that the case will be handled by around 15 prosecutors. Beyond the main criminal case, several parallel investigations are ongoing.

An inquiry involving 13 police officers has been moving more slowly than anticipated. Although originally expected to conclude by the end of September, a decision is now expected early next month due to delayed witness hearings, DW reported recently.

Meanwhile, a pre-investigation procedure is under way at the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Kocani, examining officials in the Public Revenue Office.

These additional investigations highlight the tangled web of responsibilities — and failures — that may have enabled the Pulse nightclub to operate in such blatant violation of safety standards.

A country under EU scrutiny

The tragedy in Kocani was even highlighted in the EU’s latest progress report, which warned that corruption remains widespread and a matter of serious concern in North Macedonia, a candidate country since 2005.

The report stated that the March 2025 fire, which killed 63 people and injured more than 190, exposed deep and persistent problems in enforcing anti-corruption measures. It stressed that both prevention and effective punishment of corruption must be strengthened.

For many observers, the upcoming trial is not only about accountability for a single disaster. It is a test of whether North Macedonia can confront corruption, negligence and administrative collapse — issues that have long slowed its path toward EU accession.