NAIROBI, –A fire tore through part of Nairobi’s Mathare slum in the dead of night on Monday, killing five people, including two young children, and leaving dozens of families homeless.
The blaze began shortly after 2 a.m., starting in one of the tightly packed corrugated iron-sheet homes, known locally as mabati houses. Within minutes, flames leapt from roof to roof, devouring everything in their path.
By sunrise, eight homes and two churches had been reduced to smouldering rubble.
Residents said they were woken by shouts and the crackle of fire. “It was chaos,” said Mary Atieno, a mother of three who managed to escape with only the clothes on her back. “People were screaming. We couldn’t see anything through the smoke.”
Fire Response and Casualties
Two fire engines from the Nairobi County Government arrived at the scene and battled the fire for several hours. While they eventually brought the flames under control, the damage was already done.
Police confirmed that three adults and two children were killed. Four others were injured and are being treated at the MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) Hospital in Eastlands.
Nairobi police officers visited the scene in the morning, taking photographs and documenting the damage. The bodies were moved to the Nairobi City Morgue, where post-mortem examinations are expected in the coming days.
Cause Still Unknown
The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed. Police said investigations are ongoing.
Informal settlements like Mathare are especially vulnerable to fires. Densely packed structures, poor access roads, and illegal electricity connections often mean small accidents escalate into major disasters.
“It happens too often,” said a local community organizer who asked not to be named. “We need long-term solutions better housing, fire hydrants, safer wiring. People shouldn’t have to die like this.”
Displacement and Aftermath
Local authorities and aid workers were assessing the extent of the damage as families huddled near the ruins of their homes.
For now, many have been left without shelter, clothing or food. Emergency tents and donations from nearby churches and community groups have started to arrive, but survivors say it’s not enough.
“All my things are gone my documents, my children’s books, even our food,” said Peter Otieno, one of the survivors. “We’re just waiting here, hoping someone will help us.”
The fire is the latest in a series of similar incidents to hit Nairobi’s informal settlements in recent months, raising fresh questions about safety, accountability and the state’s capacity to respond to urban disasters.
City officials have yet to issue a formal statement on the tragedy.
