Zimpapers offices housing the Chronicle and Sunday News in Bulawayo were yesterday attacked by unknown assailants who attempted to set the building on fire in a case of suspected arson.
The incident occurred at around 1am on the northern side of the building which is situated at Corner George Silundika Street and 9th Avenue.
It is suspected that the unknown people, who are on the run, splashed a flammable liquid on one of the doors in the advertising department before setting it on fire.
Chronicle general manager Marks Shayamano described the incident as an act of terror.
He said: “That’s barbaric. For one to try and destroy an organisation that is the voice of the community.
“We do not know the motive behind this act because fire started from outside.
“It appears some flammable liquid was used because the entire door was damaged, but because it was hardwood, fire could not spread inside. If that was meant to scare us, we will continue reporting the truth.”
One of the security guards who were on duty when the incident happened, Sanele Nyanga, said he was alerted by fellow colleagues who smelt smoke from within the building during patrol.
“Initially we thought it was an electrical fault and we checked around the newsrooms and other offices until we noticed that smoke was coming from the advertising department,” Nyanga said.
“When we rushed there we saw some red-glows on the door and started putting out the fire from inside using fire extinguishers.”
Nyanga said the fire continued raging until they went outside only to realise that the hardwood door was engulfed in flames.
“We had to call the fire brigade who arrived at the scene quickly, but we had already put down the fire.
“We then discovered a plastic container that had petrol and two used match sticks at the scene.”
Nyanga sustained minor injuries on the hands when one of the fire extinguishers burst while he was trying to put out the fire.
On arrival, fire fighters had to break the door after assuming that the fire was coming from inside.
The area around the door and the entire advertising department was yesterday covered with dry powder released from fire extinguishers during fire fighting.
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo said they were investigating the incident.
“We are appealing to the public to assist us with any information that may lead to arrests.
The Chronicle building is very important to this city,” he said. The Chronicle
