Najjembe market burnt to ashes
FIRE gutted Najjembe market on the Kamapla-Jinja highway on Sunday night, destroying property worth millions of shillings.
By John Semakula
in Mukono
FIRE gutted Najjembe market on the Kamapla-Jinja highway on Sunday night, destroying property worth millions of shillings.
The market is in the Mabira forest reserve and offers roasted bananas, chicken and beef, soft drinks and other snacks to motorists.
Over 20 wooden structures where various merchandise was sold were burnt to ashes. Goats, ducks and chicken were also reduce to smoldering embers.
The LCI chairperson, Kaaso Kyobe said the fire broke out at about 2:00am from a wooden structure owned by Jorum Titurijiheza that served both as a shop and a house.
Titurijiheza’s wife and children, who were sleeping in the structure, reportedly escaped unhurt.
Kyobe said the security guards at the nearby microfinance institution noticed the fire and alerted the residents.
But by the time the residents arrived, there was little to save as the fire had spread to other structures, Kyobe explained.
The fire brigade from Kampala is said to have arrived an hour later and helped in preventing the fire from spreading.
Vendors stood by as children swept through the rubble to look for coins and items to play with.
“I lost sh800,000 which I had left in the shop. I have nothing remaining and I am planning to go back to the village,†said Samuel Waswa.
Alamathan Ssebuguzi, who said he lost his butcher and his money in the inferno, appealed to the Government to assist the traders to restart their businesses.
“I lost four goats which I had just bought for toady and over 100kg of beef which I had kept in my stall,†Ssebuguzi said.
Mukono resident districtr commissioner, Maj. David Matovu, consoled the affected traders.
Lugazi Police commander Caroline Akoth said they were still investigating the cause of the fire.
in Mukono
FIRE gutted Najjembe market on the Kamapla-Jinja highway on Sunday night, destroying property worth millions of shillings.
The market is in the Mabira forest reserve and offers roasted bananas, chicken and beef, soft drinks and other snacks to motorists.
Over 20 wooden structures where various merchandise was sold were burnt to ashes. Goats, ducks and chicken were also reduce to smoldering embers.
The LCI chairperson, Kaaso Kyobe said the fire broke out at about 2:00am from a wooden structure owned by Jorum Titurijiheza that served both as a shop and a house.
Titurijiheza’s wife and children, who were sleeping in the structure, reportedly escaped unhurt.
Kyobe said the security guards at the nearby microfinance institution noticed the fire and alerted the residents.
But by the time the residents arrived, there was little to save as the fire had spread to other structures, Kyobe explained.
The fire brigade from Kampala is said to have arrived an hour later and helped in preventing the fire from spreading.
Vendors stood by as children swept through the rubble to look for coins and items to play with.
“I lost sh800,000 which I had left in the shop. I have nothing remaining and I am planning to go back to the village,†said Samuel Waswa.
Alamathan Ssebuguzi, who said he lost his butcher and his money in the inferno, appealed to the Government to assist the traders to restart their businesses.
“I lost four goats which I had just bought for toady and over 100kg of beef which I had kept in my stall,†Ssebuguzi said.
Mukono resident districtr commissioner, Maj. David Matovu, consoled the affected traders.
Lugazi Police commander Caroline Akoth said they were still investigating the cause of the fire.