Victims of Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum fire appeal for help from Sakaja

More than 70 households from Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum in Nairobi want Governor Johnson Sakaja to come to their rescue following an inferno that burnt their houses on Monday night.

Three children died in the fire.

On Thursday, Purity Muthoni, a community mobiliser and volunteer in Mukuru, told The Eastleigh Voice that there has been no response from Governor Sakaja’s administration.

"Just imagine from Monday when the incident happened there has been no help or any response from the county government, yet families are spending nights in the cold," said Muthoni.

Muthoni said their pleas for help have been met with silence since the incident happened.

"We have asked for new iron sheets to rebuild the houses, tents, food and blankets yet nobody has responded positively to our desperation," said Muthoni.

The incident that happened in the densely populated informal settlement burnt the iron sheet-walled houses belonging to the residents.

Kingsley Odhiambo, a village elder, said that families that were affected by the inferno are desperate for help as all their belongings were destroyed.

"We have children who are now not going to school and are staying in the cold. It will be good to send help to the affected families as soon as possible," said Odhiambo.

Kingsley Odhiambo, a village elder in Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum, assess the damage caused by the fire that claimed the lives of three minors on September 16, 2024. (Photo: Barack Oduor)

On Tuesday, Odhiambo told The Eastleigh Voice that the fire could have been started by a stove before escalating to cause an explosion of several gas cylinders.

While calling for Sakaja's attention, the residents have at the same time blamed the Nairobi City County government for failing to reach the scene to put out the fire that burnt until morning.

Alice Achieng', whose house was burnt, revealed that they could not salvage any of their belongings because they were caught unawares and were repelled by the raging fire.

"Some of us were caught unawares because we were sleeping. We had to run and leave everything to burn," said Achieng'.

During the incident, a 46-year-old woman lost her three children.

Everlyn Chibutsa said she lost the children when the fire broke out while she was out for business on Monday night.

The children — Mitchell Ikunza (16), Bellamy Chinaida (8) and Delvin Myles (4) — were in Form Two, Grade Two and Playgroup, respectively.

The inferno, according to residents, broke out around 7:30 pm.

“My Form Two daughter left home for school around 6:30 am while I took her PP2 and Playgroup siblings to school on Monday morning before I left for my work, never to see them alive again,” Chibutsa said.

The single mother said she hawks mitumba (second-hand clothes) to earn a living and fend for her children.

“When I was returning at night, I heard a siren from that direction and I became anxious. I asked a passer-by and she confirmed some houses were on fire in the area we live,” Chibutsa said.

A woman whose house was destroyed in the Mukuru Kwa Njenga fire holds her baby as he ponders her next move. (Photo: Barack Oduor)

She said she was shocked to find that a school, church and the entire plot where they lived had been razed.

“The fire had consumed our residences and spread to the neighbouring plot. I launched a search for my three children in vain. All those I asked said they hadn’t seen them,” she said.

She called some relatives who live in the Pipeline and Tassia estates, but none had seen the children.

“I thought the children had sought refuge in my relatives' houses after my house got burned, but it wasn’t so,” she said.

Kwa Njenga Ward MCA Kimondu Kiragu visited the scene and promised to mobilise help for the distraught residents.

The angry residents also blame poor roads and overcrowded structures with narrow paths for their inability to save the now-razed properties.

A school within the settlement was also burnt down, affecting more than 250 learners who also had their stationery destroyed.