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Woman faints as fire destroys 13 kiosks in Jinja Taxi Park
Traders look through what is left of their merchandise after fire gutted 13 shops at Jinja Taxi Park on December 15, 2021.PHOTOS/ PHILIP WAFULA
What you need to know:
- Mr Matia Mulepo, the vendors’ defense secretary, said he received a call at around 5:40am, notifying him of a fire outbreak at the Taxi Park, and by the time he arrived at the scene, the police fire brigade had put out the fire.
At the scene, Ms Diana Mbogo, a resident of Bugembe, was rushed to Jinja regional referral hospital after she fainted when she found her kiosk reduced to ashes.
Police in Jinja say the fire that gutted Jinja Taxi Park on Wednesday morning, and destroyed at least 13 kiosks, was as a result of ‘negligence’.
Most of the destroyed kiosks were selling drinks, cosmetics, phone accessories, food, and motorcycle spare parts, among other merchandise.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire outbreak, the Kiira Region Police Spokesperson, Mr James Mubi, said: “Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire originated from a neglect act from a yet-to-be established restaurant operator who left a charcoal stove unattended to.”
An ambulance rushes Diana Mbogo to Jinja Hospital after she fainted following the destruction of her kiosk by fire that gutted Jinja Taxim Park
He added: “We have tasked the business community of the taxi park to liaise with us for a one-day sensitisation workshop to enable them to benefit from the already ongoing fire and rescue sensitization programmes in Kiira region.”
Mr Mubi said the fire started at around 5:20am, and immediately, three engine fire fighter trucks were dispatched and saved the Taxi Park from further destruction.
He, however, noted that three wooden kiosks dealing in merchandise, salon, and electronics were severely affected.
An elderly woman clutches to a man's leg after learning that her kiosk had been destroyed by the fire that gutted Jinja Taxi Park on December 15, 2021
Mr Matia Mulepo, the vendors’ defense secretary, said he received a call at around 5:40am, notifying him of a fire outbreak at the Taxi Park, and by the time he arrived at the scene, the police fire brigade had put out the fire.
“This is the second time fire has gutted the Taxi Park; after the first fire about five months ago, although this time, the damage has been more as it has destroyed 13 kiosks,” he said.
At the scene, Ms Diana Mbogo, a resident of Bugembe, was rushed to Jinja regional referral hospital after she fainted when she found her kiosk reduced to ashes.
According to Mulepo, Mbogo was selling sodas, water and sugar among other items.
A man salvages a stash of cigarettes from a burning kiosk in Jinja Taxi Park on December 15, 2021
Mr Robinah Mulabisa, a resident of Namulesa, was inconsolable after finding her three-year food business reduced to ashes, and appealed to leaders for assistance.
She said: “I am a woman who has been trying to make ends meet and most of my capital was a loan which I have been servicing; I don’t know where to turn to. I appeal to leaders to offer us some assistance.”
Mr Watalunga Kizito, a trader whose kiosk survived the inferno, said his sister’s cosmetic and salon business was no more.
A woman stands besides her kiosk that was destroyed by fire at Jinja Taxi Park on December 15, 2021
