Traders at Gikomba market are counting losses after a section of the market was early today morning swept by fire.
The police and witnesses said the fire started in the shoe section of the market before rapidly spreading but no one was injured.
Although investigations are underway to establish the cause of the fire, previous incessant cases of fire outbreak have been linked to arson attacks allegedly orchestrated by shadowy land grabbers.
Nairobi regional police commander Adamson Bungei said the inferno was reported at 7 am and efforts to contain it are ongoing.
Bungei said the fire started around 1 am but the cause is yet to be established adding that multi-agency teams were deployed to the scene to help contain the spread of the fire.
“We have many teams including the public fighting to contain it now before we embark on the probe on the cause.” Bungei said.
The largest mitumba market in East and Central Africa has been facing many fire incidents prompting leaders of the area to call for the same to be declared a disaster.
The market has had its annual fires in the years 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
On November 28, 2021, as Nairobi was experiencing heavy rainfall, traders were once again grabbing land for the market being mentioned as the main cause as some of the infernos are suspected to have been started by individuals.
In the 2023/2024 budget, the Nairobi City County government allocated Sh165 million to the county fire department.
The Sakaja administration is set to spend Sh120 million to construct fire stations in Gikomba, Kangemi, and Clay City.
The Kangundo fire station was set to receive Sh25 million for registration, setup, and accreditation.
The dormitory at Tom Mboya Fire Station is also expected to be renovated this financial year for Sh20 million.
To address the problem of infernos, City Hall built fire stations in Waithaka, Kangundo, Ruaraka, and Gigiri at roughly Sh1billion.
