Fire guts NALI offices in Kampala

Work came to a standstill on Monday morning as a building at the ministry of education was filled with smoke following after a fire outbreak.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire started at around 4 am from the Ministry of Lands offices and spread to the building that houses the office of the director of the National Leadership Institute (NALI).

The fire is said to have been sparked by discarded furniture and tyres at the ministry of lands which spread to NALI offices.

A glimpse at the building in the aftermath of the fire showed that no property or documents survived the blaze.

The building of two rooms that was cordoned off by the Police had blackened walls with smoke streaming out of it.

The Police officers at the scene were seen carrying out investigations to determine what could have ignited the fire.

Many of the workers in the area looked on as they were denied access to their places of work to start the day's business.

One of the eyewitnesses who preferred anonymity said if it was not for the fire brigade to arrive at the scene in time, there was going to be devastating damage to all the buildings around Parliament Street.

The buildings that were vulnerable house the lands and education ministries as well as the one that houses the parliamentary pension scheme.

Anderson Ingoyi a worker at the lands ministry said his motorcycle narrowly survived the fire. He added that the fire was as a result of damaged furniture and tyres disposed of at one side of the building.

The assistant spokesperson of Kampala Metropolitan, Luke Owoyesigire, said they were not yet sure of what had caused the fire.

"We are still investigating the fire and we shall soon let you know what has caused the fire," he said.