Business owners at the renowned Toi market in Kibera, Nairobi, are counting losses after fire broke out in the early hours of the morning and destroyed their stalls.
It is reported that the incident started on Sunday around 2 am with the inferno destroying property worth millions of shillings. The cause of the blaze remains unknown, although the locals infer that an electric fault might have triggered the incident. Firefighters drawn from the county government rushed to the scene in an attempt to quench the fire, which had already reduced the merchandise to ashes.
The market has a history of burning down, despite the government’s promises to put an end to the infernos. In November 2021, a section of the stands was badly damaged by fire, causing traders to suffer significant losses. In 2019 the market went down in flames, five years after the 2014 incident that destroyed property of unknown value. Poor access roads have been blamed for the slow response of the fire services.
In 2018, three fire cases occurred in the market which led to then-President Uhuru Kenyatta to demand an inquiry into the matter and for those responsible to be held accountable. In June of that year, the blaze in a section of the market dealing with timber and clothing claimed the lives of 15 people and left at least 60 injured.
