Makindye Market burnt
Jan 05, 2005
PROPERTY worth millions of shillings was reduced to rubble on Monday morning when a fire gutted part of the Makindye market.
By Patrick Jaramogi
PROPERTY worth millions of shillings was reduced to rubble on Monday morning when a fire gutted part of the Makindye market.
The fire that started at 5:45am destroyed five kiosks housing a herbal medicine store, shops and a carpentry workshop.
Deputy chief fire officer Lawrence Adima said, “The fire burnt wooden makeshift structures used for dispensing herbal medicine. We arrived just in time to save the next commercial building from catching fire.â€
He attributed the fire to a short circuit but when The New Vision visited the scene, the traders said it was arson.
“It can’t be a short circuit. Where did electricity come from? What I learnt was that a taxi came by at around 5:30am and the next thing I got was a call that my shop was burning,†said Meddie Serumu, the proprietor of the herbal medicine shop.
“I have lost my bankbooks and my NDA (National Drug Authority) documents. But this is malice,†he said.
Serumu said his property was worth sh4m.
Another trader, Charles Kanwagi, whose carpentry workshop was burnt to ashes, said, “The items that were ready for sale like dinning and sofa sets, tables and sideboards were worth sh7m and the timber was worth over sh5m.â€
Traders lashed out at the fire brigade for arriving after most of the property had been burnt.
Ends
PROPERTY worth millions of shillings was reduced to rubble on Monday morning when a fire gutted part of the Makindye market.
The fire that started at 5:45am destroyed five kiosks housing a herbal medicine store, shops and a carpentry workshop.
Deputy chief fire officer Lawrence Adima said, “The fire burnt wooden makeshift structures used for dispensing herbal medicine. We arrived just in time to save the next commercial building from catching fire.â€
He attributed the fire to a short circuit but when The New Vision visited the scene, the traders said it was arson.
“It can’t be a short circuit. Where did electricity come from? What I learnt was that a taxi came by at around 5:30am and the next thing I got was a call that my shop was burning,†said Meddie Serumu, the proprietor of the herbal medicine shop.
“I have lost my bankbooks and my NDA (National Drug Authority) documents. But this is malice,†he said.
Serumu said his property was worth sh4m.
Another trader, Charles Kanwagi, whose carpentry workshop was burnt to ashes, said, “The items that were ready for sale like dinning and sofa sets, tables and sideboards were worth sh7m and the timber was worth over sh5m.â€
Traders lashed out at the fire brigade for arriving after most of the property had been burnt.
Ends