Fire breaks out at Chinamasa residence, no casualties

Mako Jerera
The Borrowdale home of ZANU PF Secretary for Finance and Acting Political Commissar Cde Patrick Chinamasa caught fire on Friday afternoon, causing extensive damage.
Firefighters responded to the fire between 3.30 and 4 PM, managing to save part of the house from the massive destruction.
Cde Chinamasa took to Twitter to announce the mishap, saying the family lost everything and were left with only the clothes they were wearing.
He revealed that his one-year-old grandson who was sleeping was rescued unharmed from the main bedroom where the fire was first detected following what he described as a “boom sound”.
“Thank God for the child’s mother, who had just arrived back from work, and the housekeeper managed to rescue the baby.
The main bedroom, the bedroom where the fire originated from, and my study were all gutted by the fire and reduced to ashes. Nothing was saved from these rooms. The Fire Brigade arrived in time to save the dining room, the lounge, the kitchen, and the two remaining bedrooms,” said Cde Chinamasa.
Cde Chinamasa said despite the loss, he is relieved that no life was lost.
“I know social media will be awash with all sorts of speculations. This I have no power to stop. What I know from the bottom of my heart is that this was an accident, an act of God,” he said.
Among the property completely lost to fire are several manuscripts of memoirs Chinamasa was known to be writing, books in his library, household furniture and electricals, family photos and files as well as documents which the former Finance Minister described as “priceless”.
The former cabinet minister made it a point to emphasise that he did not believe that the fire had been deliberately set.
He insisted that he has ruled out foul play as the cause of the devastating fire. Instead, he suspects that the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault which he attributed to an act of God.