A devastating fire on Wednesday morning gutted Nakivubo Park Yard Market which is adjucent to Owino market in Kampala destroying traders’ merchandise worth billions of Uganda shillings.

The mysterious fire started at around 4:00am and it razed stalls and shops, stretching from NakivuboPark yard that shares a wall fence with Nakivubo Stadium. Many traders wept bitterly with some asking themselves why president Museveni’s government was burning their market..

A lot of property would have been saved but police shot in the air and used tear gas to disperse traders who were attempting to save their mechandise.

Close to 35,000 traders operate in the market. They sell mainly used clothes, shoes, bags…  The fire has gutted Owino market four times with the latest fire comes barely 8 months after the second fire. Most of the traders’ products were burnt beyond recognition. Like it is as usual the police fire brigade arrived late. Suprisingly the police fire brigade headquarters are situated in a distance of less than 150 metters. But in this story we are more interested on why the market is habitually burnt. The reason is that the land on which the market is accomodated is owned by Nakivubo Stadium which currently wants to takeover its use. But when the stadium management tells the vendors that the land lord wants to repossess it …they demand for compensation. So sources tell us that the fires will not stop not until the vendors realise and vaccate the venue.

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