Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has offered to help traders restore their stalls after an inferno destroyed a big area of Toi market in Kibra, Nairobi county.
After visiting the devastated market, Governor Sakaja resorted to social media to express his condolences to the traders for their losses.
He stated that traders will be provided with temporary material and food assistance while they waited to begin rebuilding.
"Traders at Toi Market have suffered tremendous losses as a result of last night's inferno." "Poleni sana," Sakaja wrote on Twitter late Sunday night.
Traders at Toi Market have lost so much after last night's inferno.
Did you read this?
— Sakaja Arthur Johnson (@SakajaJohnson) June 11, 2023
Poleni sana.
We have assessed the damage and we will help you rebuild. In the meantime we have organised food and material support. pic.twitter.com/SHIIO0mvsk
Governor Sakaja also stated that plans to have enough road access within the market will be incorporated into the rebuilding project to allow emergency vehicle access in the event of a similar incident.
Thousands of stalls were destroyed by fire in the early hours of Sunday morning, leaving thousands of traders out of work.
According to some impacted traders, the fire started at 1 a.m. after an electrical malfunction in one of the kiosks, which spread to many others.
According to traders, efforts to put out the fire on time were ineffective because the fire department had restricted access to the market and was obliged to operate from the main road.
Others, on the other hand, allege that three fire trucks arrived at the area but had no water.
"They came and stopped on the road, they didn't help, but there is no path to gain access inside the market, and there are even gates erected in most places," one dealer explained.