By KT Reporter
The Police have attributed the recent fire outbreak in Kakajo, Mengo Kisenyi, which destroyed several makeshift structures in the city centre, to a fit of rage sparked by infidelity.
The fire started in a single makeshift structure, quickly spreading to neighbouring makeshifts, ravaging them and destroying properties valued at millions of shillings. Some of the victims suspect that the blaze was deliberately set by suspected land grabbers who have long tried to evict them, targeting their homes and business premises in the process.
Ham Nsubuga, who lost bags of maize flour in the blaze, recalled the fire spreading rapidly, leaving little chance for salvage. Despite the police’s prompt arrival, several businesses were consumed by the flames.
“We saw huge smoke billowing from nearby houses and tried to save some of the flour, but several bags got burned inside. The police arrived, but they couldn’t save much,” Nsubuga said.
Kampala Central Division Mayor, Salimu Uhuru, noted that this wasn’t the first fire to ravage businesses in the area. He urged the police to investigate and release findings on previous fires that have left the business community with nothing.
“People believe there’s something related to land grabbing and desires for this place. I don’t know. But it’s too much now, every year, people’s businesses and homes are burnt in an unexplainable manner,” Uhuru said.
However, in a statement released by Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango, the fire was attributed to an act of rage by a man named Denis, who set his makeshift house ablaze after catching his wife, Flavia, with another man in the early hours of the morning.
In a fit of rage, Onyango said that the man, locked them inside, doused the house with petrol, and set it ablaze. Although Fiona and her lover reportedly managed to escape the inferno, the fire spread rapidly, engulfing neighbouring homes and destroying properties.
“We were informed, and our fire rescue services responded promptly to extinguish the fire, saving adjacent properties. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend Denis, Flavia, and her lover for questioning,” Onyango said.
Multiple fires have ravaged the Kakajo and Kiganda areas within Mengo Kisenyi over the past three years, yet the police have not released clear reports on the actual causes of these fires.
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