THICK smoke from burning Mbare Musika billowed into the sky, overshadowing what is usually a bustling market.
Mbare Musika, the largest informal retail market in Harare, was reduced to ashes, on Tuesday evening.
Innocent Magaya, a long-time trader at Mbare Musika fought back tears as he narrated how he lost his bags of beans imported from Zambia in the fire.
"I was home when I was informed of the fire. I came here in the evening to watch my shop go down. I ordered bags of beans from Zambia on Monday. I used the larger chunk of my profits to purchase the beans only for them to be burnt down
Tonderai Mutoro, a hardware store owner, watched in agony as his shop was consumed by the flames, taking with it his livelihood that had sustained his family for nearly a decade.
Mutoro said he managed to recover a few goods with the majority of his ware reduced to ashes.
"I was called in the evening that there was a fire at the shop. I thought it was probably a small fire incident. When I arrived I saw the fire burning. There are few items that I managed to take out from the fire but it is close to nothing," said Mutoro.
Desperate vendors scoured through the ashes and rubble, trying to salvage their belongings.
Goods worth millions of US$ were destroyed in the inferno. The cause of the fire has not yet been established.
The market has provided a source of livelihood for many informal traders in Harare, who have struggled to secure jobs in the formal sector owing to the poor state of the economy.
An estimated 2,000 people lost their wares in the fire.
Another vendor who identified herself as Mai Ushe could not fathom how the US$20,000 stock she had purchased Monday had been destroyed by the fire.
"I started working here in 2007. I sold packaging bags and hardware materials. There was more than US$20,000 worth of stuff. I arrived here last night but I could not get closer to the shop as the fire was razing.
"I just hope the government will jump in and assist us in helping us get back on our feet," said Mai Ushe.
Harare City Council says investigations are underway to ascertain the cause of the inferno.
