Part of the Glen View 8 Home Industry Complex was on Wednesday night gutted by a mysterious fire with property worth thousands of dollars being destroyed.
This comes barely a year after the complex was torched by a fire with several people losing their property.
When 263Chat visited the scene, it was a sorry sight as some traders were still trying to come to terms with what had happened as their wares were reduced to mere ashes.
Some grieving carpenters were scrapping through the ashes trying to find salvage the little that was left.
The usually jovial and noisy place resembled a cemetery as everyone had a thought to ponder on.
A snap survey by 263Chat revealed that most of the people whose wares were destroyed in the inferno suspect foul play as the fire has become a common phenomenon over the past few years.
“There is a clique which orchestrate these fires, they steal some stuff and they burn the market as a cover up, we know who they are and it’s a matter of time before we expose” said Amai Charlie who said she lost goods worth $2500.
Another carpenter, Jairosi Chakanyuka said he was still trying to come to terms with what had happened as some of his stuff which he was planning on delivering to a supplier the following day was reduced to rubbles.
“I was anticipating rich pickings from the wardrobes that were waiting to be delivered to a supplier in the morning. But all that is history as I have lost everything,” said Chakanyuka trying to hide his disappointment.
A dejected Munashe said all his life he has survived on carpentry and the fire had burnt his survival hopes.
“I feel so lost and I do not know what to do or where to start from. My life depended on my wares but now that they are gone, I do not have means of survival, I do not have any start up that means I will be among the unemployed youths in the country , whoever did this has literally killed me,” said Munashe.
However, some people around the area said the fire is politically motivated as they blamed the pressure group #Tajamuka for the inferno.
“We blame this on ana Tajamuka, ndakavanzwa vachiti vachauya kuzopisa zvinhu zve Zanu,” (we blame this on the #tajamuka, I overheard some of the members saying they will burn some stuff belonging to Zanu PF members) said an unidentified man.
His sentiments were ably supported by a lady who identified herself as Ruva who accused opposition party youths of setting the complex ablaze.
However, the fires are not a new phenomenon around the complex and they have been happening before the inception of the #Tajamuka pressure group.
Meanwhile, the local councilor for ward 8, Councilor Tafadzwa Machemedze promised to help those affected. He urged people to maximize caution with fires especially during this windy season.
“As council, we are saddened by this development. However, we will take instinctive measures to make sure our people quickly get back on their feet and restart their businesses. We already had a program which we wanted to empower them but we will have to fast track it so that those affected can restart operations as soon as possible,” Councilor Machemedze said.
