TOGO : A major fire ravages the Agoè-Assiyéyé market in Lomé
The market of Agoè-Assiyéyé in Togo was engulfed in a violent fire on Thursday, December 21, around 10 pm GMT. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
A large fire broke out at the Agoè-Assiyéyé market on Thursday evening, witnessed by road users, residents of the neighborhood, and the women who operate businesses in the market.
Flames of considerable height swept through the entire site, engulfing stalls, merchandise, and various products in acrid smoke.
Firefighters who arrived at the scene worked to extinguish the fire, but the harmattan winds with dry conditions did not make the operation easy for them.
However, the firefighters managed to secure the surroundings of the market, which also houses a gas station. Unfortunately, the vendors, many of whom had taken loans from microfinance institutions, lost everything. They remained stunned and inconsolable as they watched the flames devour every part of the market.
This incident recalls a similar situation over a decade ago…
In January 2013, within a span of 48 hours, the markets in Lomé and Kara went up in flames, leading to severe economic, social, and political consequences.
During the night of January 9-10, 2013, the market in Kara (450 km north of Lomé) was devastated by flames. Approximately 48 hours later, the main market in Lomé suffered the same fate. These « criminal origin » fires, according to Togolese authorities, caused material damages estimated at nearly 6 billion CFA francs.
But the shops of 3,106 merchants (2,225 in Lomé and 881 in Kara) were destroyed. Following the disasters, President Faure Gnassingbé met with the women vendors who had lost everything in the fire and promptly ordered an investigation.
The investigation led to the arrest 25 persons and about thirty others, including members of political parties, all of whom were charged.
A few months later, investigations had still not definitively clarified the circumstances of the fires or identified the responsibilities.
The challenge lay in compensating the victims, which only began a year after the fires. Varied sums, depending on the incurred damages, were allocated to the victims by the Directorate General of the Treasury and Accounting. However, some criticized a lack of transparency in the fund allocation process, citing « vague and ambiguous considerations, » lamented the Association of Victims of Togo’s Market Fires.
The disaster triggered a major economic crisis, and during the months when victims remained uncompensated, some even passed away, constantly harassed by microfinance institutions from which they had taken loans.
The government provided new installation sites for traders. In Kara, a new market was built, and in Lomé, a temporary market in Agbadahonou accommodates the traders.
