Seven months after a devastating fire destroyed at least 14 cars and multiple businesses in Mukwenda Zone, Makerere 1 Parish, popularly known as Kubbiri, victims are still struggling to recover their assets or at least get compensation, writes GEOFREY SERUGO.
It was one of the busiest mechanical garages at Kubbiri along Bombo road. Today, there is hardly any activity. It is an abandoned place. Locals around claim the place is haunted because a fire always breaks out at least once every two years.
The inferno, which broke out in the early hours of December 19, 2024, was allegedly sparked by a disgruntled member of a Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation (Sacco) protesting delayed profit-sharing.
The fire gutted a garage, workshops and stores behind Crown House building along Kubbiri Bombo road, leaving losses estimated at over Shs 800 million. Juma Kawuma, the area LC-I chairperson, says that to the best of his knowledge, the garage was not insured and, therefore, no compensation was provided after the incident.
“Some of the mechanics responsible for the vehicles that were destroyed in the fire are currently on the run. However, some vehicle owners took it upon themselves to repair their cars — for example, the owner of the Fuso truck took responsibility and carried out repairs,” he says.
He adds that while some of the affected vehicles may have been insured, he cannot confirm whether any compensation was actually received.
INCONCLUSIVE POLICE REPORT
A police report on the matter noted that it was a case of arson because huge amounts of petrol were found splattered on the ground where cars had been burnt. Despite police reports and media coverage, some victims say insurance firms have employed delaying tactics to avoid compensating them.
Jamil Lubega, whose Toyota LandCruiser was reduced to ashes, expressed his frustration: “Even after the mass reportage of the incident in the media, my insurers have used every excuse they can find to delay, or perhaps, avoid paying me. At first, they told me they don’t work through media reports, and when the police report came out, they still said they are doing their own investigations. It is very frustrating, yet I have a comprehensive insurance cover. How long does verification take? Seven months is too long!”
“They are accusing me of negligence, yet that place was designated as a night parking area. I don’t have many options apart from going to court.”
Musa Serubogo, who operated the garage and lost three clients’ cars parked for repairs, says he has been pushed into debt.
“Several customers had left their cars when the fire happened. The owners are demanding compensation, but there is little I can do,” he says.
“It is so frustrating that we were not part of the dispute that had the fire reach the garage! I have tried to borrow some money to recover the place to full operation, but each time a potential lender hears of how the place got burnt, they withdraw and start asking me how sure I am that another fire will not gut the same place.”
Meanwhile, Nakakawa, who was initially arrested before police gave her bond, distanced herself from the arson claims but admits some members were agitated over what she terms as delayed dividends.
“Some people claimed that I burnt down the place to kill Sacco records and also disguise as though the money too got burnt, but the police found all that unfounded. Actually, we were also victims of the fire,” she says.
Reached out for a comment, Denis Bwanika, the public relations and membership officer at Uganda Insurers Association (UIA), said he needs more time to look into the situation before making a comment.
RELATED INCIDENT
In April 2022, an arsonist gutted a Kyambogo-based car bond where three cars were burnt. An employee at the bond, Shakeel Ahmad, who was at the scene, died in the inferno. Yet again, a police report later cited arson as the cause of the inferno, but no suspect has ever been arrested to this day.
Businessman Muhammad Farooq, who owned the car business under Butt Investments, has since fled the country, citing threats to his life. He had recorded a statement with police months before the fire, noting that anonymous callers claiming to be members of the notorious Kifeesi gang were demanding $1 million (about Shs 3.6 billion) to save his business from sabotage.
After the destruction, he recorded another statement with the police in which he said the Kifeesi group acknowledged responsibility for the arson and demanded the money or else he was the next target.
Months later, he disappeared, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) spokesperson, says Farooq’s file hit a dead end when he disappeared. “We couldn’t do much when the complainant was unavailable but I will task my team to follow up from where we stopped,” he says.
My dad lost his car from thea but compasated