NAIROBI, Kenya – In the shadow of yet another fire disaster at Gikomba Market on Sunday, a more tragic blaze claimed five lives in Mathare B.
In the early hours of Monday, a deadly fire ripped through the Mathare B slums in Nairobi, killing five people—including two children—and leaving four others seriously injured.
The victims were reportedly asleep when the fire erupted around 2 a.m., quickly consuming at least eight iron sheet homes and two churches.
Firefighters from the Nairobi County Government and the military were dispatched to the scene, working alongside residents to contain the flames. The injured were rushed to a nearby MSF hospital, while the bodies were transferred to the mortuary for autopsy and further investigation.
The timing of the fire—just hours after another unrelated blaze engulfed a section of Gikomba Market—is chilling.
In Gikomba’s case, there were no casualties, but traders once again lost livelihoods. The near-identical timing of these fires—both erupting around 3 a.m.—has reignited conversations about infrastructure gaps, urban fire safety, and a worrying pattern of repeated tragedies.
A Pattern of Preventable Tragedies
Whether it’s a slum fire in Mathare or a suspected electrical blaze in Gikomba the message is clear: Kenya’s emergency response systems remain critically under-resourced.
Gikomba alone has witnessed repeated fires in 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and multiple times in 2024. Despite a promised Sh59.98 million fire station in April, nothing has materialized on-site. Traders and residents alike continue to face preventable disasters without adequate infrastructure to stop the cycle.
Until Kenya invests meaningfully in access roads, emergency response units, and safety education, stories like these will continue to dominate headlines—and leave communities reeling.
