Trader granted bail after being arrested for cooking at Kejetia Market

A trader at the new Kejetia Market who was arrested on Tuesday for cooking on the premises has been released on bail. 

The detained trader, Felicia Opoku, was handed over to the police by the market's leadership and was detained overnight before being granted bail. 

The President of the Federation of the Kumasi Traders, Nana Akwasi Prempeh, confirmed that investigations were ongoing to determine who gave Felicia Opoku permission to sell at the market. 

“Around 11 am, we had a call that a certain lady has set fire again and when we went there to check, she was heating okro soup, and so we arrested her and gave her to the police and detained her overnight and granted her bail this morning, but investigations are ongoing to find out who gave her the permission to come and sell in the market,” he said in a radio interview with Citi FM.

“We are collaborating with the management of the market to ensure that we enforce the by-laws to ensure safety in the market.”

This follows a revelation by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that last week's inferno at the market was caused by another trader who was cooking. 

Dr. Bawumia had disclosed that the fire was started by a shop owner cooking inside her shop, and it spread to a nearby chemical shop, resulting in the destruction of 33 shops out of the 8,000 at the market. 

The market's management and the traders' union have pledged to collaborate to enforce by-laws to ensure safety in the market.