Hundreds of traders at Nairobi’s sprawling Gikomba Market have once again been plunged into despair after a massive, fast-spreading fire ripped through several business premises, reducing merchandise worth millions of shillings to ash.
Standard Newspaper
The early morning inferno, which concentrated heavy destruction around the market’s Gorofani and fish side sections, took emergency response teams nearly 10 intensive hours to fully contain. According to the Kenya Red Cross Society, the multi-agency rescue mission attended to 17 casualties who sustained minor injuries, burns, and severe smoke inhalation as they frantically tried to salvage their livelihoods from the advancing flames.
The 4 A.M. Wake-Up Call: Panic and Destruction
The fire is believed to have broken out at approximately 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, catching the informal trading hub completely unguarded. Within minutes, towering walls of fire and columns of thick black smoke swallowed whole blocks of tightly packed timber stalls and bales of second-hand clothes (mitumba).
The Eastleigh Voice
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As word of the outbreak spread, desperate business owners dashed to the scene under the cover of darkness. The chaotic scenes caused massive early morning traffic disruptions along Landhies Road, Kamukunji, and surrounding Majengo access corridors, as specialized firefighting engines struggled to maneuver through the market’s narrow, unstructured pathways.
Standard Newspaper
[ 4:00 AM: Fire Breaks Out ] ──> Fast spread via timber structures ──> Path blockages on Landhies Rd
│
(10-HOUR BATTLE BY RESCUERS)
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[ 2:00 PM: Blaze Contained ] ──> 17 Casualties Treated ──> Millions in stock completely vaporized
Heartbroken Traders Speak Out: “Everything is Gone”
For the affected business community, the disaster is a crushing economic blow that wipes out years of hard-earned capital overnight. Many households in the capital rely entirely on week-to-week sales from Gikomba to feed their families and service active business bank loans.
The Star
Lydia Aurelia, a long-term clothes retailer whose stock was completely incinerated near Gorofani, recounted her frantic attempts to find answers:
The Star
“I received a call at 2:00 a.m. warning of an outbreak, but they said it was being managed. By 5:00 a.m., I was told it had been put out. But as we speak, we have no job. Everything is gone with the fire. The clothes we were to sell on Monday have all been burnt. Those who depend on this market to feed their children have nowhere to turn to.”
Another trader, Mercy Muthoni, echoed the deep grief sharing that years of personal investment vanished in mere hours. Muthoni questioned why the multi-billion-shilling promises of localized modern fire station infrastructure remain lagging, forcing traders to watch helplessly as delayed response assets try to access the market from distant sub-counties.
The Star
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A Toxic Pattern: Gikomba’s History of Unexplained Fires
While the official cause of Sunday’s blaze remains under active police investigation, the latest incident adds another grim chapter to Gikomba’s highly controversial relationship with recurring fires.
The market has routinely gone up in smoke over the last decade, with major destructive events recorded in 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2024. Today’s incident marks the latest breakdown since successive fires hit the footwear and “Kwa Mbao” sections in mid-2025.
The Star
The high frequency of these blazes has continually fueled deep-seated suspicions and online trending conspiracy theories among local traders, who suspect targeted sabotage by unseen cartels and land grabbers aiming to forcefully displace informal merchants from the prime public plot.
Calls for Lasting Accountability
Public figures and legal minds have quickly stepped up to voice solidarity with the devastated traders. Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo called on Nairobi County leadership and national agencies to move past standard, repetitive expressions of sympathy.
The Star
“My heart goes out to every hardworking Kenyan whose livelihood has been wiped out overnight,” Odhiambo stated. “We must pursue proper market planning, real fire safety infrastructure, and transparent investigations into these recurring infernos that keep targeting one of Nairobi’s most important economic hubs.”
As dusk falls on Gikomba, assessment teams from the Kenya Red Cross and the Nairobi City County government remain on the ground to map out the exact number of impacted households. For now, the affected traders are left with few answers, staring at charred ground, and tasked with the impossible burden of rebuilding their businesses from absolute zero.
The Eastleigh Voice
