A mali Mali trader at beach area in Kalundu area of Kitui town on Sunday afternoon suffered losses running into millions of shillings after a fierce fire razed his business premises.
The shop opposite the Lake Oil Petrol station which stores mattresses and other merchandise was reduced to ashes as looters took advantage of the fire and stole goods.
It was not clear what caused the fire as most of the business premises remained closed on Sunday.
A witness said the fire started from the meter box.
"The mattress and the mali mali store had everything reduced to ashes during the fire that started there around 2 pm," another witness, James Munyoki said.
He that as the the business premises went up in flames, members of the public went on a looting spree and carted away valuables that were yet to catch fire.
Police, however, arrived minutes after the fire started and managed to control the situation by keeping looters at bay.
Concerted efforts by the police and residents enabled the fire to be put off as the Kitui county government fire engines did not show up at the scene.
Two private water boozers, one belonging to the Kitui Water and Sanitation company, arrived too late to find everything had been consumed by fire.
