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Kabale traders in tears as fire consumes properties worth millions
People gather at the building that was gutted by fire on Saturday morning v along the Kabale main road in Kabale town. Photo | Robert Muhereza
What you need to know:
- The building, located on the Kabale main road opposite Kabale central market, housed two shops: Tayebwa James Electronics and Designers Zone. The incident occurred on Saturday morning at around 5AM.
The police in Kabale are investigating circumstances under which a fire gutted one of the commercial buildings in Kabale town causing damage worth millions of shillings.
The building, located on the Kabale main road opposite Kabale central market, housed two shops: Tayebwa James Electronics and Designers Zone. The incident occurred on Saturday morning at around 5AM.
The police fire brigade team responded swiftly and managed to extinguish the fire before it spread throughout the entire building. The cause of the fire is not yet determined, and police investigations are underway.
The Kabale District Police Commander Mr Joseph Bakaleke said: “The cause of the fire is not yet established but the police investigations have commenced to find out what exactly happened. Several shop items were burnt to ashes.”
The owner of the Designers Zone shop, Ms Gloria Aharikundira, believes that the fire was deliberately set by unknown arsonists who removed bricks from the building before igniting the shop items. She expressed frustration over the significant loss caused by this malicious act.
“The cause of the fire was an intended act of malice by arsonists. We have registered a serious loss because of this malicious act,” she said.
This is not the first time such incidents have occurred in Kabale. In August 2019, a fire destroyed five timber stores in Igabiro cell in Southern Division Kabale Municipality, while in August 2021, a fire destroyed timber and workshop equipment along Kazooba road in lower Bugongi Kabale town. In both cases, the property owners suspected foul play.
