For many years now, Gikomba market has stood out as one of the largest open-air markets in Nairobi.
It is a business premise to more than 10,000 people.
For a decade now, the market has faced various challenges but endless cycles of fire are more disturbing.
This begs the question, who are the forces behind these fires? Are they natural accidents or are they triggered by some people?
January 23, 2015, a fire broke out at 1 am which reduced clothes and shoes worth millions to ashes.
According to business owners in the market, they linked the inferno to a land grabber who wanted to forcefully take the land.
The acting police boss at the time promised to thoroughly investigate the cause of the fire but no answers have been given ye
Last year though, was one of the darkest years for Gikomba market after the premise was reduced to ashes three times in a row leaving scores who eke a living out of the sale of second-hand clothes and shoes at the market in anguish.
The worst was on October 10, 2017, where a fire broke down at 3 am. The fire spread fast and viciously.
In this case, there were rumors that it was an arson attack. Other fire incidents were in March and May.
Then on June 27, Gikomba yet again underwent another loss after goods worth millions were burnt into ashes, leaving 9 dead and more than 50 injured.
The flames broke out at around 1 am at Kwa Mbao area according to the Kenya Red Cross, before spreading to other parts of the market. The fire brigade was overwhelmed by the flames.
The cause of the fire is yet to be known.
Questions now abound why most fires break at the wee hours of the night and why concrete answers are never given establishing the real cause of the fire.