Escom lines blamed for Mzuzu Market fire
Revelations have emerged that overgrown electricity supply wires could be the cause of the fire which destroyed almost half of Mzuzu Main Market on Sunday night.
This puts into question a preliminary report Mzuzu City chief executive officer Thomas Chirwa presented to Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Tracizio Gowelo which hints that the fire started in one of numerous restaurants at the marketplace.
It reads: “The cause of the fire is not clearly known, but it is rumoured that some restaurant owner allegedly left a pot of beans on a fire [burner] or mbaula to get cooked over the night. Unfortunately, around 9pm, the pot run out of water and the beans caught fire which spread out to other parts of the market.”
However, an eyewitness and the restaurants owners’ committee chairperson Wilson Mbewe have countered the view, saying the fire actually emanated from sparks on a nearby electricity pole and spread to a nearby tree where wires were perilously covered by green leaves and flags of political parties.
Mbewe said the group was horrified by the allegations, but not surprised since “the rest of the business community wants them out of the busy marketplace”.
