Revealed: The Secrets behind the annual Gikomba market fire ‘festival’

Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan is among city leaders who believe the June 23 fierce fire that gutted a significant portion of Gikomba Market and Gorofani estate was deliberately planned to edge out traders and tenants.

“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,” said Hassan after the worst inferno in decades at the market.

Businesspeople and local residents say the source and spread of the fire, a reluctance by firemen and swift reaction by political leaders, suggest that the inferno was a carefully choreographed smokescreen, and that the real intention was to flatten Gorofani estate, which is sitting in an area earmarked for development.

Mary Onyango, a trader who incurred huge losses, says the tragedy is suspicious.

“We believe some people were sent to do this. How come fires always start when nobody is around and always at night?” posed Onyango, an official at the market.

Fire tragedies are not new to Gikomba. They are an annual occurrence. This year alone, the market has been ravaged by three fires. Now, victims and some leaders read mischief in the incidents.

The land on which the market stands is property of the county government according to County Lands and Housing boss, Tom Odongo. He however did not reveal whether the land had changed hands or confirm rumours that plans are underway to convert the land to different use.

“I have no doubt. The land belongs to the county government,” said Odongo.

The Nairobian has established that Gorofani estate has been earmarked for redevelopment through the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan (NIUPLAN), a scheme residents associate with the tragedy.

Like the traders, the tenants of Gorofani lost property worth millions  of shillings, in addition to their shelter. The fire razed down 15 blocks (240 single rooms), leaving one resident dead and about 1,000 people homeless.

William Otenyo lost household goods and the place he has called home for over 10 years. “We could not rescue our belongings. The fire was so intense and even those who salvaged a little lost them later in the fire that surrounded the entire estate. It spread so fast. It was no accident. Somebody must have triggered it,” claimed Otenyo.

In the resulting melee, a civil servant who lives there lost his car, while two lorries belonging to a trader went up in flames. Otenyo is of the view that powerful agents must have been used to ignite and increase the intensity of the fire.

“Some people say they saw sparks ignite outside their houses before turning into a fierce fire. It reached a point where the fire would break out in patterns and within no time, the whole area was engulfed in flames,” said a resident.

The firemen reportedly responded too late and ill-equipped as usual, and apparently not too enthusiastic to salvage the property of the county government. Was the county government planning to bring down the old, derelict estate?

“Firefighters seemed uninterested in putting out the inferno. Even after the tragedy, we didn’t hear leaders speak about the ruined estate. It is like all along somebody was looking for a way to bring this estate down,” said Bernard, a resident.

Was the market the distraction in a deliberate ploy to destroy the estate? This is the question residents are now asking. Was it orchestrated by persons eyeing the land that is bound to become more profitable with the completion of Quarry Road, a dual carriageway under the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) that will cut across Gikomba from Parklands and Landhies Road?

There is a feeling that the recent fires were deliberately set to force the traders out of the land on which the now ruined estate sits so that ‘developers’ can reap from the proposed infrastructure.

“I don’t think it was coincidental. The estate had been abandoned for some time and it appears something was cooking. See how the county officials are quiet on the damage to the estate. Why did they let it go up in flames?” claimed a resident.

There is also the issue of sour relations between the Gikomba traders and a section of youths linked to Pumwani Riyadh Mosque located a few metres away.

A section of the Gikomba land is reportedly owned by the mosque and the traders who operate from that section reportedly pay rent to the mosque. It is said that the youths have severally blocked lorries ferrying goods to the market.

“They placed mats on the road and nobody could come in or out of Gikomba using the route near the mosque. We didn’t know their motive, but tension was high here and not even police or provincial administration could question them,” claimed a trader who sought anonymity.

The youths are dreaded and after the fire incident, they attempted to claim a portion of land initially occupied by the market. Since June 27, youths from the mosque, traders and affected tenants have clashed thrice.

“They claimed the county estate had invaded a section of their land. They even started putting beacons, but police thwarted the move,” said a resident.

Buruburu police boss, Charles Kerich, said they have thwarted destruction and robbery of people’s properties, but the tussle over the land is the responsibility of the county government.

“Our mandate is to maintain order, but if we have groups contesting a piece of land, then it is the Nairobi City County government that should deal with the matter,” said Kerich.