Nyamityobora market fire: Here is what we know

MARKET FIRE

MBARARA - A huge flame rippled through a market in Mbarara Saturday morning, destroying merchandise estimated to be worth millions of shillings.

The early morning  fire at Nyamityobora Daily Market of over 6,000 traders is believed to have started at around 5am local time.

No official cause of the blaze has been provided thus far, but some market traders suspect it might have been started by someone. Typically, all vendors leave the market at 6pm every day.

Traders were angry that the Police's fire brigade arrived at the scene late - and without enough water to snuff out the raging fire to prevent it from spreading.

Siraj Mubiru, the LC1 chairman of Central Cell, where the market is located, said that after being alerted about the fire by one of the traders, they immediately called Mbarara Central Police Station, but that the firefighters did not arrive in time.

The market is located about 10 metres from Nyamityobora Police Post, which left many vendors baffled - and enraged - as to how the facility would be razed down without the swift intervention of Police.

'They had to use our tank'

One trader said he was alert about the incident by another whom he works alongside.

"I arrived at 5:30am after receiving a call from my fellow trader," Robert Singura, who has been working at the market, told New Vision.

"Police came at around 6am when the market was almost finished. What made matters worse was that they came with an empty vehicle. They had to use [water from] our tank that we have in the market," he added.

"If they had come earlier, maybe they would have saved some stalls and lockups."

Singura said his store had rice, maize flour and beans worth sh5m. All that is gone. "We call upon Government to come and help us out."

At the beginning of the lockdown, enforced to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, President Yoweri Museveni allowed food markets to remain operational while several other businesses were closed, so as people could buy what to eat.

The condition was that the markets observe standard operating procedures, including a four-metre social distance and handwashing.

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The blaze is reported to have started at around 5am Saturday.

For now, the actual cause of the fire is not known. But some vendors have voiced their suspicions.

Nyamityobora Daily Market is located in Mbarara city.

The flames swept through the market, which is said to have as many as 6,000 traders.

As day broke, the level of destruction became clearer.

Vendors claim that Police firefighters took long to arrive at the scene.

Nothing was spared . . .

The cause of the fire remains a mystery - for now.