Traders at Gikomba market are counting losses after a night fire razed their properties.
The fire broke out in the 'Kwa Mbao' area near the fire station at around 3 a.m. and lasted for hours. The inferno is said to have affected the whole area and extended to a section of the bus station area.
Although the cause of the fire has not yet been revealed, traders suspect it might have been caused by a power fault.
This is not the first time the 'Kwa Mbao' section has suffered a fire outbreak. Exactly a month ago, on March 1, the area also caught fire, leaving the traders counting losses.
Gikomba Market has a long history of frequent fires, often leaving traders with devastating losses worth millions of shillings.
Traders have always suspected malice in the numerous fires, accusing individuals of deliberately burning down their properties.
In retaliation and in a bid to protect their place in the market, over 900 traders who have fallen victim to the frequent fires sued the Nairobi County Government in 2021.
The traders demanded that the county pay them compensation of Ksh20 billion for the losses caused by the fires. They argued that the city authorities had failed to implement adequate measures to curb the fire menace.
After taking over the county leadership in 2022, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja acknowledged the recurring fires at Gikomba Market and promised action to prevent future incidents.
Sakaja emphasized that Gikomba was public land and that he was going to protect it from private land grabbers who were allegedly trying to evict the traders.
"I have instructed our surveyors to be on the ground to demarcate the land and process the title deed for Gikomba as public land. One of the causes of the fires has been the land grabbers and speculators," Sakaja promised in 2022.
The frequent fires in Gikomba are believed to be deliberate arson attempts by individuals who want to force traders out and claim the land. There have also been cases where traders themselves allegedly set the market on fire and claimed compensation when they struggled to restock.
