[PHOTOS] Gikomba traders' agony in aftermath of morning inferno

 

On Friday morning, Kenyans woke up to the news that another fire had razed a section of the Gikomba market in Nairobi.

This is the umpteenth time the market has gone up in flames, the previous one being in February last year.

Traders are counting losses after a fire broke out near the mitumba section of the market.

The cause of the early morning inferno is yet to be established.

Fire engines at Gikomba market on August 6, 2021.
Image: MAUREEN KINYANJUI

The fire is said to have begun about 30 minutes after midnight at the section along the Molo Line area known to many as Ghorofani.

Despite the fire having started at 12 am, it still continued till early morning on Friday.

"The fire started past midnight and traders who had stocked their bale of clothes did not manage to save them..until now the fire is still burning despite NMS coming to the rescue," said a trader.

Gikomba traders salvaging what is left after the morning inferno on August 6, 2021.
Image: MAUREEN KINYANJUI

"We are used to the fire and the government promised to get a solution but we are getting losses every year," another trader told the Star.

The fire has since been contained with the help of fire officers from the Nairobi Metropolitan Service and the police.

Annual Gikomba fires appear to be a "routine" that has not been solved yet, despite promises from leaders and commitment to finding a solution to the menace.

Police at Gikomba market following morning inferno on August 6, 2021.
Image: MAUREEN KINYANJUI

On April 10, 2019, more than 2,000 structures were razed as a section of Gikomba Market was gutted by fire.

In 2018, the market experienced three fire cases which led to President Uhuru Kenyatta calling for investigations into the fires.     BY THE STAR