By Andrew Irumba
Vendors of Najjembe Market along the Jinja-Kampala highway, in Lugazi municipality, Buikwe district, are shedding endless endless after their market getting razed down by fire.
Eyewitnesses reveal that the fire which started in the wee hours on Wednesday morning destroyed property and merchandise estimated to be worth over Shs500.
Vendors told our Spies that
the fire destroyed merchandise including more than 700 chicken, sweet bananas and sweet plantains locally known as Gonja, plus several fridges and stalls.
The market is a popular stopover for commuters in need of snacks and soft drinks. Yusuf Langwe, the Market Defense Secretary, said the fire started around 1:00AM.
Langwe said “We only managed to stop the fire at around 3:00Am with the help of residents and police fire rescue team.”
But by then a lot of property had already been burnt to ashes.
However, sme of the traders blamed the fire team from Lugazi police station for taking long to arrive at the fire scene yet they were nearby, saying a lot would have been saved if they had arrived in time.
Musa Walenge, a vendor who lost his canteen in the fire, wondered what is going to happen to him, beause he had secured a loan to start up the small business that was reduced to ashes.
Susan Naigaga, another vendor says her entire stall was reduced to ash yet she had just acquired a loan.
However, Hellen Butoto, the Ssezibwa Region Police Spokesperson, said detectives are still analyzing the situation to establish the exact cause of the fire.
