By Anchor Writers
MACHAKOS, July 5
A mysterious midnight fire has reduced a section of the bustling Machakos Mitumba Market to ashes.
The inferno wiped out nearly 200 stalls and destroyed businesses worth millions of shillings in one of the county’s worst market disasters in recent years.
As investigators combed through the blackened debris on Sunday, traders demanded answers, insisting the fire could not have been caused by an electrical fault because the market has never been connected to the national electricity grid.
Police have launched investigations into the cause of the inferno.
Machakos Sub-County Police Commander Joseph Muturi said detectives had collected samples from the scene for forensic analysis at the Government Chemist.
“We urge traders to remain calm as investigations continue. We shall establish the cause of the fire through scientific analysis,” he said.
The blaze broke out shortly after midnight at a kiosk near one of the market gates, according to traders who were among the first to respond.
“It started near a kiosk next to a gate that was locked. Within minutes I saw the flames spread like lightning,” said trader Nzioki Kimiti.
The market depends entirely on solar lighting because it has never been connected to the Kenya Power electricity network.
Traders switch off their solar lights every evening after closing business, leaving only watchmen guarding the premises in darkness through the night.
That fact has effectively ruled out the widely circulated speculation that an electrical fault could have sparked the blaze.
The Anchor observed that the vicinity does not have CCTV cameras, so investigators have a job ahead of them to determine the cause of the fire.
As flames engulfed the wooden stalls, desperate traders rushed to salvage their merchandise but found the many gates arroung the market locked.
Watchmen reportedly feared that opening the gates would trigger widespread looting in the darkness.
Forced to improvise, traders and first responders broke into the market through another gate some distance away from the inferno in an effort to establish a firebreak and stop the flames from spreading.
Their efforts proved futile.
The fire consumed stall after stall with alarming speed.
Residents and traders also questioned the county’s emergency response, accusing the fire department of arriving without water.
However, Machakos County Fire Department head Felix Nzyoki dismissed the criticism, saying members of the public had mistaken a fire engine for a water bowser.
According to accounts at the scene, the first fire engine arrived within minutes but without water.
The crew reportedly rushed to Maruba Dam intending to refill the tank, only to discover that the designated water pump was not functioning.
Water bowsers were then mobilised as firefighters battled to keep the inferno under control.
A second fire engine travelled nearly 40 kilometres from Mavoko and arrived almost an hour later when much of the market had already been consumed.
By then, close to 200 stalls had been destroyed.
The fire engines were able to reinforce a firebreak that responders had established, preventing the flames from spreading even further.
By dawn, the once-thriving market had been reduced to a field of grim faces, twisted mettle boxes and iron sheets, charred wood, ash and soot. Smouldering pockets of fire could still get rekindled to flames.
Adding to traders’ misery, much of the property salvaged from the flames was damaged and the rest reportedly looted amid the confusion.
The scene remained largely unsecured, forcing officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to collect forensic samples alongside street urchins scavenging through the debris for items they could sell.
The devastating losses have left hundreds of families facing an uncertain future.
Nathan Kimatu, who has operated a second-hand clothes business at the market for 16 years, said everything he owned was destroyed.
“This was my only source of income. I don’t know where to start,” he said.
Mary Ndila had only recently restocked her business with clothes and shoes.
She lost two stalls and believes the fire may have been deliberately started.
“Someone could have caused this,” she said.
Another trader, Mary Mbithe Mutua, estimated her losses at about KSh2 million after two of her stalls were reduced to ashes.
As investigators work to establish the cause of the fire, speculation has continued to circulate among traders that the blaze could have been deliberately started to pave the way for reconstruction of the market.
Authorities have not linked the fire to any criminal motive and have urged the public to await the outcome of investigations.
Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi, flanked by area MCA Nicholas Nzioka visited the scene and pledged county government support on behalf of his boss Governor Wavinya Ndeti.
He promised that the market would be rebuilt and that the county would work with traders to help them resume business.
Former State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita also visited the devastated traders and donated KSh250,000 to assist the victims.
He called on the county government to activate its emergency disaster fund to support affected families and businesses.
For hundreds of traders who watched years of investment disappear in a single night, however, financial assistance alone may not be enough.
Their immediate demand is simple: establish what caused the fire, hold those responsible to account if foul play is confirmed, and ensure that a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again. https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaswB5v5Ui2VhOWDyL3G
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