Gikomba traders count losses after night fire razes stalls
A section of traders at Gikomba Market are counting losses after a night fire that destroyed properties of unknown value.
Preliminary reports state that the fire which is one of the many witnessed at the market broke out in Kwa Mbao area near fire station.
Videos circulating online show a cloud of smoke dominating the area with a section of traders accessing the damaged properties.
The inferno started at 3 am and went on for several hours, affecting the entire area and a section of the bus station before it was extinguished.
Traders suspect that the fire may have been caused by a faulty power line, however, the actual cause is yet to be determined.
The market has recorded continued history of fires that have continuously left traders counting significant losses.
While claiming that the fires have always been a malicious attempt to sabotage their businesses by unnamed individuals, the traders appealed to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to intervene.
The traders particularly asked Sakaja to install CCTV cameras to catch the perpetrators.
They also asked the governor to deploy police officers across the market to ward off arsonists.
They also asked for fire hydrants and boreholes in the market to help counter fire incidents.
“These regular fires should end, and we are asking the government of President William Ruto and Johnson Sakaja to find a lasting solution,” Yusuf, a trader, stated.
As he took office in 2022, the county chief assured the traders that his administration will take prompt action to prevent the fires.
He also pledged to set up a market fire station.
“Gikomba is public land, and we will build a wall around it. It belongs to the people of Nairobi, and we will defend it to the end from grabbers,” he said at the time.
