President Uhuru Orders Investigation on Dawn Inferno that Razed Down Gikomba Market

President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged that the government will support traders affected by Friday morning inferno that razed down Kenya's largest open air market, Gikomba in Nairobi.

The head of state further directed authorities to carry out speedy investigations to establish the cause of the fire, that is suspected be an arson attack. “We pledge to support traders affected by fire at Gikomba. We will rebuild the market… I direct security officers to investigate the cause of the fire and bring the culprits to book,” President Kenyatta said while on a campaign tour in Meru county on Friday.

The dawn fire brought down property estimated to be worth millions of shillings.

In a press statement on Friday, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri said that stern action would be taken on anyone found culpable. “From the initial reports that we are getting, we are saddened that they appear to point at foul play. The government has set in motion investigations into the cause of the fire to fully establish what caused it,” Kiunjuri said in a statement.

The Cabinet Secretary promised the traders that the government will renovate the market by putting up more permanent structure. “I would like to assure the affected traders that we will not abandon them. The National Government in collaboration with the County Government will explore ways of ensuring that businesses in this very important market for such a big section of the city’s population are protected against such disasters,” the statement read.