•Property worth millions destroyed

Property worth millions was Monday night destroyed in a fire that engulfed over 12 shops in Gatsata, a Kigali suburb.The actual cause of the fire could not be established by press time. However in an interview with The New Times, Sam Nkongori, the owner of three of the destroyed shops suspected foul play.

"I suspect the fire was started by someone who wished us bad, I have someone in mind but I cannot reveal his names here,” he claimed.

"I have lost over Rwf 60m in this fire. On top of that, I have lost all my important documents, I don’t know where to start from, I cannot explain the pain I am in now,” lamented the visibly exasperated trader.

It is also alleged that there was a stinging smell of petrol before the fire started and the fact that the houses have no electricity, points to a possibility the fire could have been started by someone.

It is estimated that over Rwf120m was lost as all the motor spare parts within the 12 shops that perished.

Charles Muganga, an eyewitness told The New Times that the blaze started at around 10 pm but was too ferocious for people to save the property.

"The fire must have started at around 10pm because we returned from watching a football game only to see fierce fire, the smoke was also too much, we couldn’t save anything,” Muganga said.

There were no casualties since all the shops were closed and the owners had retired to their homes.

Meanwhile, Nkongori said that the matter had been forwarded to the area police and investigations were underway to find the actual cause of the fire.

When contacted, Police confirmed that investigations are on to establish the cause of the fire.

The proprietor of the gutted house, Abias Seneza, said there was a possibility of the fire having been caused by a misunderstanding between tenants.

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