Another Mysterious Fire at Gikomba Market Leaves Traders Counting Losses

Several traders at the Gikomba market in Nairobi are counting losses after a fire destroyed goods worth millions of shillings on Monday.

The early morning fire razed down a section of the market where traders store their stock in bales. 

Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya (MCAK) called for a speedy investigation into the incident and blamed the government for doing little to protect the market that employs about two million Kenyans.

The incident comes barely three weeks after another fire gutted down a large section of the market on October 20th. In August, the same market went up in flames, leaving a trail of destruction.

Following the August 6th fire incident, the government promised to install CCTV cameras as part of efforts to deal with frequent fires at the market.

Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho, who toured the facility after the fire, directed the contractor in charge of the installations to complete the job within seven days.

He also vowed to have the individuals believed to be behind the recurrent fires at the market arrested and prosecuted.

In August, over 900 Gikomba traders sued the Nairobi County government demanding Sh20 billion in compensation over frequent fires at the market.

The traders want the county government to pay them for direct financial loss and compensation for loss of business opportunity and re-establishment costs.

They listed 15 fire incidences since 2015, saying the frequent occurrences show that the county government has failed to take adequate precautions for their safety and that of the public while doing their business at Gikomba.

The traders also cited a fire incident that occurred in June 2018, killing 15 people and injuring many others.