Traders count losses as fire razes down Karume Market

Mchikichini market traders and members of the public look at what was left of the formers’ merchandise after the Karume Market in Dar es Salaam was razed to the ground on Wednesday night.

Dar es Salaam. Mr Rashid Salum, 22 is lost in thoughts on how he will restart his business after all of his merchandise was razed when Mchikichini Market, popularly known as Karume Market, caught fire on Wednesday night.

The dealer in footwear for the past 10 years counted a loss of over Sh6 million. He has several questions about what might have been the cause of the fire that reduced almost 80 per cent of the entire market to ashes.

However, he hopes that if the government allows them to carry on with business at the area he can borrow money from friends or relatives to rebuild his business, given the potential of the market.

“Everything I have worked for here for over 10 years is gone. I have several people depending on me; five family members and three workers who earned their living through my business.

But I still have hopes of catching up but only if the government allows us to continue doing business here as soon as possible. I am sure I can get the capital from friends and relatives or find someone as a guarantor to obtain a loan from the bank,” says Mr Salum.

“Other traders and I got the information at around 10 but by the time we arrived here most of our goods had already perished...and looters were also busy doing their job of getting what was remaining,” he says.

Mr Salum is just one of thousands of traders who had their goods burnt down on the Wednesday incident. Like him, most of the others are pondering how to restore their businesses and pay back the bank loans.

According to an eye witness, a charcoal vendor, Mr Deo Mtei, the fire started a few minutes to 10 pm from one of the stores, but it was so intense that it easily spread to other cabins.