{"id":99369,"date":"2015-06-23T12:50:50","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T12:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/?p=99369"},"modified":"2015-06-23T15:41:07","modified_gmt":"2015-06-23T15:41:07","slug":"more-than-half-of-gikomba-market-razed-in-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/2015\/06\/more-than-half-of-gikomba-market-razed-in-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"More than half of Gikomba market razed in fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The traders, some in tears and shocked beyond words, recalled the agonizing phone calls they received from their colleagues who heard that their businesses had been reduced to ashes by the fire that started after midnight\/FRANCIS MBATHA<\/p><\/div>\n

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 23 – Thousands of traders in Nairobi’s Gikomba market were counting massive losses on Tuesday after a fierce fire razed more than half of the market.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The traders, some in tears and shocked beyond words, recalled the agonizing phone calls they received from their colleagues who heard that their businesses had been reduced to ashes by the fire that started after midnight.<\/p>\n

“I received a phone call at about 3am. I was told our market was on fire. I came down here, I have lost my goods worth around Sh9 million. Containers of shoes, containers of clothes have all burnt down, I don’t know where people are going to start again,” Macharia Muia explained.<\/p>\n

He described the fire as the worst tragedy to hit the market which is a central point of getting second hand goods especially shoes and clothes.<\/p>\n

“For the last 10 years, we have never seen a fire like this one, this is the most destruction we have ever experienced,” he complained.<\/p>\n

National Youth Council leader Tinega Damasen whose business was also damaged by the fire said he had lost everything that he had initiated using a loan from the National Youth Fund.<\/p>\n

“I have a loan on youth fund I don’t know what to do. Young men have lost a lot and they had all taken loans,” he explained.<\/p>\n

Their narrations were similar to the thousands of other traders who lost colossal amounts of money and property in the early morning fire. By 11am, smoke was still billowing in the otherwise busy market.<\/p>\n