NAIROBI, Kenya,Dec 18 — Two people were killed and scores left homeless after a massive pre-dawn fire swept through part of Kibera, Nairobi’s largest informal settlement, destroying dozens of makeshift homes, police said.
According to a police incident report, the fire broke out at around 5 a.m. on December 16 in Kibera’s Laini Saba area, near Mashimoni Junction, along the road leading to the Laini Saba Chief’s office, north of Kibra Police Station.
The incident was reported by the area chief, through the chief controller, prompting an emergency response by officers from the Nairobi Region, Kilimani Sub-County, and Kibra Police Station, including regional and sub-county orderly officers and duty officers from Capitol Hill and Kibra.
Police said approximately 70 mabati (corrugated iron-sheet) structures were completely destroyed in the blaze.
The cause of the fire had not been established by the time of the report, though residents had experienced a power blackout a few minutes before the fire broke out.
“At the scene of fire, two bodies which were burnt beyond recognition were retrieved,” the police report said.
Members of the public, working alongside Nairobi County fire engines, managed to extinguish the fire by about 4:30 a.m., police said.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and scenes-of-crime officers later documented and processed the scene.
The bodies were removed and taken to the Nairobi Funeral Home as investigations continued.
The case is being handled by the Officer Commanding DCI, Kibra, and remains pending under inquiry.
Fires are frequent in Nairobi’s informal settlements, where overcrowding, illegal electricity connections and the widespread use of flammable building materials increase the risk of rapid spread and loss of life.
