This archive report was first published on 26 September 2019.
On Wednesday morning, a devastating fire swept through the Busia County finance office, destroying crucial documents, including payment files. The incident occurred at around 2am, according to a private security guard who was manning the county government headquarters at the time.
County officials, including County head of Directorate of Criminal Investigations Jeremiah Ikiao, Sub County Divisional Criminal Investigation Officer Samuel Agutu, and Critical Infrastructure Police Unit (CIPU) Joseph Bartore, are leading investigations into the cause of the fire.
Deputy Governor Moses Mulomi assured that the staff will not be allowed into the offices until police give the green light, but noted that there was a backup system where the documents are stored and, therefore, the information in the damaged files would still be retrieved.
“We are capable of retrieving the information that was in the affected office since we have a backup system,” said Mulomi.
Meanwhile, in Kisumu, traders at Kibuye market were counting losses after a fire razed part of the region’s largest open air market on Wednesday morning. The fire gutted part of the market, affecting stalls, stores, and goods whose value is still unknown.
Among those affected by the fire was traditional healer Ken Otene alias “Boom Luoro”, who lost all his medicine which is hard to prepare. “I have nothing to say. I have lost all my medicine which is hard to prepare,” Otene said.
County Police Commander Benson Maweu said they have launched investigations into the incident, and are undertaking a survey to help them improve their content for readers.
