Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has criticised Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja over the slow response by the county after a fire erupted in Mlango Kubwa area in Mathare.
In a statement on Thursday, December 11, Babu said the Nairobi County Fire Brigade responded to the fire incident six hours later and did not have enough water to extinguish the fire.
The ODM MP noted that the slow response from Nairobi County resulted in the death of a six-year-old child and several homes destroyed by the inferno.
“Yesterday in Mlango, Mathare Constituency, we witnessed a heartbreaking tragedy. A little child, only six years old, lost his life in a fire that raged helplessly as the community cried out for assistance from Nairobi County Government, under the leadership of Governor Sakaja, who failed to send fire engines to extinguish the fire. They responded six hours later with vehicles that did not have water to put out the blaze.
“According to residents, no fire engine arrived in time. Approximately 2000 homes and precious belongings had already been reduced to ashes, and a young life, full of dreams and promise, was burnt to death,” Babu stated.
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The Embakasi East lawmaker sympathised with the affected families and vowed to push for change in Nairobi County.
“The pain, the anger, and the sense of abandonment felt by the community are beyond words. Thousands are now homeless. We shall reset this shitty county to a city county,” he added.
The fire erupted in Mathare on Wednesday, December 10, morning, causing widespread panic among residents.
The Kenya Red Cross Nairobi Branch, in a statement, issued an alert stating that the Nairobi Fire Brigade was currently on site with efforts to extinguish the flames underway.
"A fire outbreak has been reported at Mlango Kubwa area in Mathare, Nairobi County. The Nairobi Fire Brigade is currently on site, and efforts to extinguish the fire are underway," the Red Cross stated.
The blaze erupted at around 9:00 a.m. in the Kianda section of Mathare, with initial suspicions pointing to a possible gas explosion as the cause.
The fire quickly spread through the densely populated informal settlement, destroying several houses.
Witnesses at the scene have suggested that a gas cylinder explosion may have triggered the inferno, though authorities have yet to confirm.
