Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna now wants the Kenya Police Service to permanently station officers at Gikomba, Toi and Mutindwa to curb rampant market fires.
Making a statement in the House, Sifuna said security should also be enhanced around other markets to safeguard businesses and guarantee the incomes of people who rely on them for a living.
“The Governor of Nairobi City County must, as a matter of urgency, state the plans he has put in place to ensure firefighting equipment is available near these markets,” he stated.
He added that the root cause of the fires must be urgently addressed, and perpetrators brought to book once and for all.
“These fires stand to destroy a critical economic base of the poor and struggling Nairobi traders,” he said.
Sifuna noted that the nearest fire station to all these markets is the one in the Central Business District (CBD), which constantly reports lack of water or malfunctioning equipment.
“Politicians and Government officials have formed the habit of giving long speeches, donating food and building materials to victims, then moving on until the next fire,” he regretted.
With a population of more than four million, Nairobi has been relying on the Koja fire station on Tom Mboya Street, which was built in 1907 and another at Industrial Area built in 1957.
Two more fire stations have been built so far, in Waithaka and along Kangundo road, with a third one being constructed in Gigiri.
The Nairobi senator said citizens are currently grappling with a myriad of issues including income losses, high cost of essential goods and a difficult business environment.
“To add arson to that is the highest form of insensitivity. In no uncertain terms, this is economic genocide,” he stated.
On June 11, 2023, at around 2 a.m Toi Market in Kibra Constituency went up in smoke, resulting in about 3,000 traders losing their stocks.
Two days later, Mutindwa Market in Embakasi West Constituency also went up in flames. In the Mutindwa incident, more than 800 traders lost property and stocks.
“It is not far-fetched to fear that given this pattern, other markets in Nairobi will soon be next,” Sifuna said.
He claimed that in the last ten years alone, there have been at least 20 fires in Nairobi markets.
