This archive report was first published on 27 June 2020.
On Saturday morning, traders at Gikomba market in Nairobi arrived to find their stalls had been demolished overnight, leaving them counting losses.
Starehe MP Charles Njagua Kanyi blamed the government for the demolition, claiming they had a hand in the recent inferno at Kenya's largest open-air market.
According to the MP, the stalls were demolished by NYS recruits in the company of GSU officers, a claim that Nairobi News could not independently verify.
“NYS recruits are in Gikomba right now. They are demolishing stalls that traders had reconstructed after a mysterious fire razed them on Thursday morning. GSU officers are also there protecting the recruits. Is this exercise a sign that the govt was involved in the recent fire?” Mr Kanyi wrote in a series of tweets.
On Thursday, Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho had warned those behind the frequent fire incidents in Gikomba market that they would face the law, saying the market would be modernised with the first phase set to be concluded within three months.
