Traders counting losses after Karume Market is burnt down

Dar es Salaam. About 3, 500 Petty traders in Dar es Salaam have been left counting losses after a major section of the Mchikichini, aka Karume Market was ravaged down by an inferno that broke out in the early hours of Sunday.
The incident comes six months after Dar’s iconic Kariakoo Market was ravaged by a hungry flames that broke out on July 10, 2021.
The Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Amos Makalla confirmed the incident on Sunday January 16, while speaking to reporters after visiting the market on Uhuru Road in Ilala District.
Makalla urged traders to remain calm during this time as he is forming a team to get to the bottom of the cause of the fire that reduced almost 98 per cent of the entire market to ashes.
Despite the operations done by Tanzania fire and rescue force, they couldn’t control the hungry fire that ravaged Karume Market which is home to more than 3, 500 traders and food vendors.
"I feel sorry for all the traders who have been affected by this incident. We are yet to identify the cause of the fire but we will set up a team to probe the incident the cause,” Makalla said
The team will be headed by Ilala District Commissioner, Ng'wilabuzu Ndwata Ludigija.

He said no one will be permitted to enter the market during the period that investigations into the cause of the fire will be ongoing.
“You will only be allowed after the team are satisfied with everything, before that we will see alternative way of you doing business,” he said.
The decision was, however, not accepted by many traders who questioned where they will find their daily bread urging the government to help them because most of them have loans in banks.
Some of the eyewitness of the incident said the fire was caused by the food vendors who cook beans at night using charcoal stoves.
However, Ilala District Fire and Rescue Commander, Elisa Mugisha said they were informed on that incident through a phone call from a man who introduced himself as Heren Mlay.
"Fortunately at that time we received the call we were coming from Mabibo where a house caught fire and shortly after we arrived here at the scene we tried our best but we could not control the fire because it was huge,” he said.
Mugisha added that, the fire was intense due to the nature of the products they sell that includes clothes and wood materials.
Though 98 percent of the stalls and shops were burnt down, there were no any human casualties.
This is not the first time that Karume Market has been ravaged by fire.
On June 11, 2014 80 percent of the market was burnt down.