Mradi man kickstarts drive to dress up Embakasi blast victims

32-year-old Jared Ombassajo Marube resides at a servant quarter in one of the government houses in Embakasi, about a kilometre away from a gas plant where Thursday night's explosion went off.

He recalls that when the first blast went off, he was in his house going about his evening activities when a call came in informing him that something was amiss.

"I immediately left the house and rushed towards the source of the blast hoping to assist anyone who might be in need but before I could do that, the second blast went off throwing me into panic and I hurriedly left the scene in search of safety," he told the Eastleigh Voice from his house in Embakasi on Monday afternoon.

He explained that the fire was nothing close to many that he had helped put out in the past.

"It was like hellfire, something close to what we imagined would happen in the last days. We shall never forget what we saw, we can only hope and we pray that the sick will heal," he said.

Touched by the plight of those who suffered losses in the fire, Marube hosted eight victims of the fire who have since reunited with their relatives and started a clothes drive for the affected families.

"I sell water in jerry cans and when I meet my customers, I ask them to bring in the clothes they are not wearing often and forward them to the families being sheltered at the Kenya School of Aviation. We are not picking food items just clothes," he said as he sorted out deliveries from the last two days.

Kenyans of goodwill have since donated clothes and shoes that can be worn by women, men and children.

He calls on Kenyans to do what they can to help and not leave the government and humanitarian agencies to cater to every need of the victims.

"When your neighbour is in need, you come together and help, you do not wait to see who else will come through. Don't have stock-up items in the house that you do not use," he added.

Like several of the locals that the Eastleigh Voice spoke to, Maribe called on the government to release details of the affected persons promptly to avoid creating unnecessary tension over how many may have died in the fire.

32-year-old Jared Ombassajo Marube has been collecting clothes from wellwishers. (Amin Abdullahi)

"When a death occurs, the government should share prompt updates to kick off this lingering tension, because either way, we will know because matanga haiwezi fichika," he added.

On Friday last week, a few residents who spoke to the Eastleigh Voice said they came across persons lying on the ground as the fire was being put off who they assumed to have succumbed from smoke inhalation.

The persons were later taken to hospital in ambulances.

"There's an air of panic in this area, even the sound of an ambulance is enough trigger for someone to start screaming," said Bernard Muteshi.

Area Assistant Chief Andrew Okoiti, however, dismissed claims of there having been more deaths than those announced by the government.

He said detectives have since swept all the areas where houses burnt down in search of bodies, but none was found.

"We are certain that there were no deaths at the scene. The claims being peddled are as a result of the resulting tension and panic that has clouded this area which also led to the earlier claims of fresh gas leaks this morning," he explained.

He added that all deaths have been recorded at the Embakasi DCI office each under an OB and so far, they remain six and will only go up in the unfortunate event that more of those in critical care succumb to their injuries.

In the meantime, efforts to return the affected children to school are in progress.

"We are doing a headcount of the missing children in the neighbouring schools in a bid to trace them and ensure they are allowed back to school as they are, having lost books and uniforms in the fire," he said.

As they struggle to return their lives to normalcy, residents of Mradi all of whom have been affected by the tragedy in one way or another are still pleading for assistance from the government and well-wishers.