Detectives were on Tuesday, August 3, alerted after a fire broke out at City Hall Annex in Nairobi, burning crucial files.
The fire incident raised eyebrows after employees feared that deceitful people were out to destroy evidence in the accounts and human resource departments to conceal corruption.
Senior government officials rushed to the scene to reassure their employees that all was well after the fire was put out swiftly.
The Communications Director at the Office of the Deputy Governor Elkana Jacob told Kenyans.co.ke that it was not the first time that City Hall had caught fire but described the latest incident as a minor one.
“The Deputy Governor of Nairobi, Anne Kananu, has authorized relevant agencies to investigate the cause of the fire and come up with a full comprehensive report regarding the matter,” Jacob stated.
The DCI officers at the scene had a rough time trying to investigate the matter as unruly workers shouted at the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) officials.
In a similar incident in Migori county, on September 24, 2017, fire burnt down the procurement office and destroyed computers and receipts of goods worth about Ksh1.5 billion.
This made it hard for the auditor general to track the expenditures budget of the county as crucial information was lost.
The county had alleged that at the time of the fire incident, the procurement store contained tender documents, work tickets, payment vouchers, payment cash books and bank statements.
“ The expenditure for the year 2017 to 2018 could not be accounted for due to lack of relevant documents and financial records which allegedly got burnt during the fire outbreak leading to limitation of scope,” Former Auditor-General Edward Ouko stated
The biggest inferno at City Hall occurred in 2004 when a fire ripped through several floors of the building, destroying records of city sewers, town planning and wires. No casualties were reported.
It took five hours to bring the fire under control because council fire engines were unable to cope on their own and had run out of water.
This was because there were no working hydrants that could be found near the historic building.
Following a crisis meeting of key ministers, Vice-President Moody Awori cautioned against speculation that the fire had been started deliberately.
