Kenyan Army servicemen and firefighters from Nairobi are battling to put out the fire that engulfed Mutinda Market in Buruburu, Nairobi.
According to locals, the fire started around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction, devastated traders, and ashy remains of goods stored for sale.
They also suspect the fire was an arson attack set with petrol to force the vendors to vacate the space they have occupied between Bidii Primary School and KAG East University.
Additionally, they stated that a residents’ welfare organisation had been pushing for the removal of the stalls from the area, describing them as a haven for insecurity.
“We have had cases in the past where bulldozers were sent to demolish our stalls to force us out on the grounds that the area has become a breeding ground for criminals from Kayole, Huruma, Ndandora and other slums where most traders come from, but that never worked because this space was allocated to us by the county government.
What we saw last night was a first; we have never been torched before; this is a new low,” a trader said.
Paul Anyumba, a shoe trader, claimed that at 3:30 am, he received a call informing him that a fire had started at the stalls.
He claimed that by the time he got there, the fire had already grown so large and was so near his stall that he was powerless to save any of his stock.
“I watched the shop go down, reducing to ashes everything I depend on for my livelihood. I have no alternative source of income and I am asking the government to help us rebuild our stalls,” he said.
He continued by estimating that over 1,500 daily market traders had experienced losses on par with his own.
“All of them have lost property, which cumulatively amounts to millions in the current terrible economic situation,” he added.
Cassava trader Francis Mutua claimed that when he arrived at the scene at 3am, most of the stalls had already burned to the ground. The first fire engine, according to him, did not have enough water to put out the fire because it arrived later than the other fire engines.
“This fire would not have spread this far if the fire engines had arrived on time; secondly, our President promised us Sh300 million during the campaigns to rebuild these stalls, let him do it now as a show of concern,” he demanded.
Freddy Mboya said he resigned from a government job in the hope of improving his financial situation through business, but before he could break even, he lost everything in the night fire. Mboya rented a stall in the area a month ago to sell household items.
“I lost goods worth Sh300,000 and my four children are waiting for me to pay their school fees for both high school and primary school but where do I go for help?” he wondered.
Nairobi County’s head of disaster management, Mr Brwamwel Simiyu, said the planning department would design the stall, while Embakasi West MP David Mwenje promised the traders material support to help them rebuild their stalls.
In what has become a trend of fires with no apparent cause, a similar suspicious fire last week destroyed stalls in Toi market, causing property losses.
It is unclear why the authorities have not put a permanent end to the ongoing fires in Nairobi’s markets, which are believed to be the result of arson attacks. The results of the investigations are still secret.