Gikomba fire: 15 people dead, 70 with serious burn wounds

15 people died and 70 others sustained serious burn injuries after fire razed Gikomba market in Nairobi.

Nine bodies discovered inside a residential building are yet to be retrieved while six have been moved to City Mortuary.

“At 2.30am fire broke out inside a timber shop near the Nairobi River. Four children who were rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital died on arrival,” Nairobi Regional Commissioner William Kang’ethe Thuku said.

Gikomba Market located in Majengo area is mostly known for its traders who sell second-hand clothes.

This is not the first time that the market stalls have been razed to the ground and the frequent occurrence of such incidents has raised eyebrows in different quarters.

Some have even labeled it the ‘annual Gikomba Market Fire’.

Two years ago, after a similar inferno destroyed property worth millions, Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan alleged that the incidents were an attempt to edge out traders from the land.

“I think it is not purely accidental. We have too many fires here. There are people responsible for them and we must find out who they are and bring them to book,” he told journalists.

A year later, another fire broke out and this time round President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered that investigations be carried out to establish the cause.

He waded into the raging debate over Gikomba Market fire after two incidents occurred within a month of each other.