Fire Razes Gikomba Market for the Fifth Time This Year

A fire erupted at Gikomba market in Nairobi on Sunday morning, destroying property worth millions of shillings.

The inferno that broke out at around 5:45 am razed down the market’s Simba yard area but no casualties were reported, according to Kamukunji Deputy Sub-County Police Commander Doris Mugambi.

“The fire was reported at around 5:45 am. We have been able to put it out but we cannot establish the worth of property destroyed,” she told a local daily.

Investigations are underway to establish the cause of the fire incident, the second this month and the fifth this year. 

On November 8th, an inferno gutted down a section of the market where traders store their merchandise. This came three weeks after another fire incident at the market on October 20th.

On August 6th, the same market went up in flames, leaving a trail of destruction. Following the 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 hours after the incident, directed the contractor in charge of the installations to complete the job within seven days.

He also vowed to have the suspects 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.

In June 2018, 15 people were killed and scores injured after a fire broke out at the market.