At least 75 families at Mashimoni village in Kibera are homeless after fire gutted their houses on Monday.
The fire that lasted for four hours is reported to have started at around noon, destroying property of unknown value.
According to witnesses, the fire allegedly started after a gas cylinder exploded in a resident’s house.
“I have lost everything that was in my house since the fire was spreading very fast beyond our control. One of our neighbours left her gas cooker on as she went out on other duties. The cooker then exploded and started the fire before spreading to other houses aided by strong winds. At least 75 houses have been destroyed by the fire,” Hellen Owino, an affected resident said.
According to the residents, the fire brigades arrived at the scene about 45 minutes later after much damage had been done albeit they assisted in containing the fire.
“The fire brigades arrived late after 45 minutes to assist in putting out the fire which had spread to a large area by then. At first the residents fetched water from their houses to help in quelling the fire but that was in vain,” said Agutu Benard, a resident who also lost all his properties.
There also emerged complaints of looting in the process with some residents claiming to have lost property to looters despite the presence of police.
"Some people took advantage of the situation by looting property as they disguised themselves as good Samaritans. The police came but since it was a large area, they could not man the everywhere," added Agutu.