Mahama Ayariga addressing the media
PRESIDENT John Mahama has sympathised with the victims of the Kumasi Central Market fire outbreak, assuring them of government’s support to return to business.
The president gave the assurance through the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, who visited the market on Saturday.
The fire, reportedly, consumed about 15 lockable shops and the items that were being stored in them at the Aboabo Station section in the market at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2026.
The exact cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but it is believed to have started in one of the shops when the market was empty and spread to other shops.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), despite initially struggling to get access to the fire scene due to poor planning in the market, managed to douse the blaze.
The Local Government Minister, speaking during a visit to the market, said President Mahama was heartbroken about the devastating effects of the fire outbreak in the market.
He encouraged the traders to take heart in these difficult moments, noting that proper assessment would be done to ensure the victims received support.
Mahama Ayariga also advised the traders not to use gas cookers and other flammable materials in the market, to avert disaster.
The minister was accompanied by the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, the Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyeman Boadi, and personnel of the GNFS.
Madam Abena Asuo, one of the fire victims, lamented that she had lost the source of her livelihood, appealing to government to support the victims to return to work.
According to her, reports she had received indicated that the firefighters did a yeoman’s job to stop the inferno from spreading further to cause more damage in the market.
Meanwhile, what triggered the fire was not readily known when the report was being filed. Personnel of the GNFS have started investigations to verify the cause of the inferno.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah, Kumasi