Shop destroyed in Rubavu fire

Property worth Rwf20 million was lost after Jean Bosco Gasigwa’s tailoring shop, was destroyed in a fire  in Rubavu market on Friday.

Sunday, November 10, 2013
The fire before it was put out by locals, police and army personnel. The New Times/ Jean du2019Amour Mbonyinshuti

Property worth Rwf20 million was lost after Jean Bosco Gasigwa’s tailoring shop, was destroyed in a fire  in Rubavu market on Friday. Energy and Water Sanitation Authority (EWSA) officials attributed it to a short circuit reportedly due to poor installation since no other shop or building was burnt. The fire started at 7:30 pm  and was not put out at around 9:30pm when locals, police and army personnel intervened.However, Gasigwa said he had switched off all the power sources in his shop before he left. He instead blamed the fire on power outages. He instead blamed power outages. "I switched off before I left. This might have been caused by EWSA’s power outages since  nowadays electricity is often on and off,” said Gasigwa.The shop was not insured against fire.Officials said it was unfortunate that most of business people do not insure their property and therefore  suffer losses in case of such incidents.Sheik Hassan Bahame, the mayor of Rubavu District ,urged business community to insure with various insurance companies so they can be compensated in case of such cases.