By THEDISPATCH.DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT
The Ugandan government says Uganda House, which was partly burnt during Tuesday’s riots in Nairobi, is set to be reopened tomorrow.
“The 6-floor Uganda House building which was slated for reopening this Friday 28th June, 2024 has been undergoing renovations and was only occupied by commercial tenants on the ground floor,” said Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary, Vincent Bagiire in a statement on Wednesday.
“The other floors, including the Third Floor which previously housed the Consular Office, had been vacated to allow for renovations,” he added.
The newly refurbished Uganda House is a Commercial Building located on Kenyatta Avenue in the Nairobi Central Business District was vandalized and set ablaze.”
One of the eyewitnesses said Ugandan officials at the Mission in Nairobi struggled to secure a fire truck to extinguish the fire at Uganda House.
“I am told there are only three water bowsers in this city (Nairobi),” said the eyewitness, emphasising, “So we are losing Uganda House. It is hurting.”
Uganda, however, said she maintains healthy relations with Kenya despite the recurrent trade wars.
“Whereas we regret the said incident that led to the destruction of the property, we commend the Nairobi Fire Department for putting out the fire,” said Bagiiire.
He further said while there was extensive damage to the property, “we are grateful that there are no reported fatalities or serious injuries that have been identified so far.”
Bagiire said none of the Diplomatic or Consular staff were in the building at the time the fire broke out.
“The Government of the Republic of Uganda would like to categorically state that our relations with the Government and indeed the people of the Republic of Kenya remain solid. We support peaceful demonstrations as a democratic right but we condemn in the strongest terms, violence that leads to destruction of property and loss of lives,” he added.
“We therefore call for calm, discourage unnecessary and unhelpful speculation and premature conclusions to allow for investigations into the matter.”