Kisumu traders suspect street urchins behind stalls fire » Capital News

KISUMU, Kenya, Aug 6 – Fifty four business stalls went up in flames at the Kisumu bus terminus as traders’ heaped blame on street urchins as the cause of the fire.

The Wednesday morning fire consumedsu the entire block, adjacent to the bus park police post.

Kisumu bus park chairman Shem Ochuodho says internal investigations point to the street urchins.

“A day before, it is reported that there was an altercation between the urchins and one of the traders and they sent a warning,” he said.

Ochuodho says it is highly suspected the urchins were retaliating back by setting up the stalls on fire.

He decried the urchins’ menace at the bus park in the recent past, while calling upon authorities to come to their aid.

“These street children are a bother to us as traders at the bus park, they are troublesome, each day, there is a case, let the county and national government assist us,” he said.

Addressing the press at the scene of the fire, the affected traders recounted the loss they suffered as a result of the inferno running in millions of shillings.

Jackeline Akinyi, who runs a boutique, called on elected leaders to come to their rescue for support.

“My stall went up in flames with everything, this is where I get my daily bread, please help us,” she said.

Firefighters from the City managed to control the fire from spreading to adjacent business stalls during the 2am incident.

They now want the matter to be probed, with urchins as the main suspects.

George Basole, a mtumba trader, who lost his shop, says there is need for a conversation over the urchins presence at the bus terminus.

Basole says the issue is a time bomb and will explode if no urgent action is taken.

“These boys are so many, they have grown into adults and engage in criminal activities,” he said.

Police have so far seized up the matter for investigations to ascertain the cause of the fire.