FIRE guts about 20 makeshift structures at kamwala trading area

About 20 makeshift trading structures have been gutted by fire at Kamwala Trading Area in Lusaka.

The fire broke out on Tuesday evening, August 18, 2026, around 20:40 hours, behind Downtown Shopping Mall along the railway line.

Zambia Police Service Public Relations Officer Godfrey Chilabi says Kabwata Police Station received a report of the fire and promptly dispatched officers to the scene.

Mr. Chilabi says upon arrival, police found several makeshift trading structures already engulfed by the fire.

The Lusaka City Council Fire Brigade was also at the scene and managed to extinguish the blaze.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire may have started from a brazier that was reportedly left burning at a makeshift restaurant.