Fire Destroys Zambia’s Biggest Market
A runaway fire at Zambia’s biggest market place has destroyed dozens of stalls and left scores of traders devastated.
The fire started on Tuesday at the Lusaka City Market, one of the biggest traders’ markets in the country.
According to reports, firefighters took a while to arrive at the scene, by which time the fire had rapidly spread throughout the market. The blaze was eventually extinguished by city council firefighters and the Zambian Air Force.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, and authorities are continuing their investigation.
While some traders at the market told reporters that they suspect the fire was caused by an electrical fault, Zambian president, Edgar Lungu, has alluded to arson.
The president, who is currently in Ethiopia attending the African Union Summit, said in a series of tweets that, if the blaze was started intentionally, it would constitute ‘economic sabotage’.
“Security wings are working hard to investigate all possible areas of wrongdoing in the fire incidence. The nation will be kept informed…Let me warn [that] those engaging in acts bordering on economic sabotage will surely be brought to justice.We’ll find you wherever you’re hiding [sic],” he tweeted.
He also urged the nation to stay calm and to not take any ‘retaliatory action’.
The United Party for National Development (UPND), Zambia’s main opposition party, said that the blaze should not be politicised and that Zambians must stick together during this time.
“All residents hold Lusaka City Market dear to their hearts because it’s a source of livelihoods to thousands of our mothers and youth…It’s a complex that cuts across political, religious or ethnic divides and brings World class goods and services from far flung places such as Dubai, China and Europe, right at our doorsteps [sic,” Mutale Nalumango, chairperson of the UPND said in a statement.
Image credit: Fire at Lusaka City Market (2017) [online image] sourced on 5 July 2017 at https://www.trendsmap.com/local/zambia/c/24
