Expectant woman among eight killed in dawn inferno

An expectant woman was among eight people killed in an early morning fire in Kichinjio area of Makina, Kibra, Nairobi. 

Dozens of others were hospitalised with injuries following the inferno, which left many families homeless in the densely populated neigbourhood, according to witnesses. 

Kilimani police commander Patricia Yegon said investigations have been launched into the cause of the fire. 

“We are yet to get more details because those who perished have not been identified. We have started investigations, and in the course of process, we expect to establish their identities,” she told The Sunday Standard by phone. 

“During an assessment of the aftermath, she added: “We have seen and identified three victims at Kenyatta National Hospital, and they are all in stable condition.” 

By midday Saturday, rescue operations were still ongoing. The Standard captured a middle-aged man, who survived the ordeal, being attended to by Red Cross officers.

Plumes of smoke still curled from the debris, as the acrid scent of burned clothes, household items and scorched mabati structures filled the air. Residents stood in stunned silence, some lost in thought, others with their palms on their chins, struggling to come to terms with the tragedy that had just struck. 

Others braved the choking smoke in desperate attempts to salvage what remained of their belongings.

Witnesses said the fire, which started at around 4.30 am on Saturday, caught them off-guard. It spread rapidly, overwhelming residents as they tried in vain to extinguish it. 

Nafisa Abdul said she and her neighbours were awakened by the hooting of a motorcycle, which alerted the neighbourbood to the horrific incident. 

“We began knocking on doors to wake people up. We helped catch some who jumped from the upper floor. But others, whom we could not manage to hold, got injured and were rushed to hospital,” she recalled. 

She said she witnessed a pregnant woman desperately trying to escape from her balcony, but her condition made it impossible.

“A gas cylinder exploded just as she got back into the house, burning her to death together with her brother,” she narrated in a trembling voice, struggling to hold back tears. 

Moses Okwemba, a victim whose house was razed in the inferno, said he was awakened by the screams—but it was already too late to save anything.

“I was deep asleep. I woke up when smoke had already engulfed the entire neighbourhood, and I couldn’t salvage anything,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“I managed to rescue my four family members. They are all safe.” Okwemba said he witnessed eight fatalities, four of them from a single family.
“My two neighbours also got injured and were rushed to hospital,” he added.Another resident, who requested anonymity, said she witnessed four deaths and recognised some of the deceased as her relatives.

"Among those who died are family members. Some were siblings—a brother and a sister,” she said.

Some residents attributed the blaze—which is believed to have consumed around 40 houses—to an electric cooking coil that may have exploded.

“I’m certain one of us had woken up to prepare breakfast using a coil, which unfortunately exploded,” said Abdul, noting that many residents in the area rely on electric coils for cooking. They also accused Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration of laxity, even during emergencies such as fire outbreaks.

“The first fire engine arrived at around 5 am—but it came without water. Others followed minutes later. Most of the firefighting was done by the residents themselves,” said Okwemba.