Fire burns Garissa town’s Soko Mugdi market again as traders count millions in losses

Traders at Soko Mugdi, Garissa town’s largest market, are counting heavy losses after a devastating fire gutted the entire market.

The congested and poorly planned market is home to over 4,000 small-scale traders dealing in groceries, textiles, food stalls, M-Pesa outlets, second-hand clothes, butcheries, as well as retail and wholesale shops.

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be established, but traders who spoke to The Eastleigh Voice suspect it may have started from an unattended fire at one of the eateries overnight and escalated into a major inferno.

Abdille Nuriye, a textile shop owner who lost goods worth over Sh2 million, called for a ban on the eatery business in the market.

"This is the sixth time this market is burning. Every moment we recover from the loss, fire comes overnight, and we are knocked down. We always suspect the cause to be an unattended fire that burns overnight in the eatery kiosks," he said.

He urged the government to ban eatery kiosks within the market and blamed the fire’s rapid spread on the market’s congested and poorly planned layout.

Poorly planned

"The market is poorly planned and several attempts by the government aiming to plan well were politicised and traders incited that it was a takeover plan," he lamented.

Asha Mohamed stood in shock as her M-Pesa shop was engulfed in flames, saying it was the second time fire had completely destroyed her business.

"I don't know where to start now, it was yesterday that brought a stock of new mobile phones from Nairobi, they are all burning down," she decried.

Aisha similarly suspects the fire from the eateries might be the cause, urging the police to investigate the cause of the blaze.

No lasting solution

She said the most annoying and regrettable thing was how the fire was recurring, as both the national and county governments failed to enforce a lasting solution.

Yussuf Aden, who operates a grocery business, blamed the county government for the lack of timely response to contain the fire that broke out early Monday morning.

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• Northern Kenya
• Garissa Town
• Soko Mugdi
• market fire
• Fire burns Garissa town’s Soko Mugdi market again as traders count millions in losses
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In June 2022, the traders recounted a similar loss after an inferno razed the entire market.

President William Ruto announced that the government would build a new modern market at Soko Mugdi during his recent tour of Garissa County.

He said the government had set aside Sh500 million to develop the market.

Despite the previous plans that failed, the President allayed fears that once the new market is done, the same traders who initially occupied it will remain as the beneficiaries.