Traders at Gikomba market are counting losses after a morning fire razed their properties.
According to reports, 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.
Fire destroys shops in Gikomba Market. Photo: Courtesy.
The cause of the fire has not yet been revealed but traders suspect it might have been caused by a power fault.
This is not the first time the section has suffered a fire outbreak.
Gikomba Market has a long history of frequent fires, often leaving traders with devastating losses worth millions of shillings.
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.
