Sakaja's New Bid to Boost Markets in Nairobi

Kenya, 16 December 2025 - For decades, Gikomba Market has been a place of hustle, hope, and sometimes, heartbreak.

Traders recall the night skies glowing orange, the acrid smell of smoke filling the air, and the chaos that followed devastating fires.

In 2014, an inferno claimed 15 lives. Seven years later, a blaze reduced over 900 stalls to ashes.

For many, it wasn’t just property lost—it was a livelihood gone in minutes, a dream turned to smoke.

Yet amid the history of tragedy, a transformation is quietly taking shape.

Rising along Quarry Road is the new Gikomba Market Block D, a seven-storey structure designed to change the way Nairobi’s largest informal market operates. It is more than just a building; it is a promise of safety, order, and dignity for traders who have long braved the uncertainty of life on flammable wooden stalls.

“This market is a new beginning for us,” says Jane Mwangi, a second-generation trader who has spent nearly 20 years selling second-hand clothes at Gikomba.

“For years, we lived in fear of fire. Every dry season, every electric fault, we worried. Now, I feel like our children will inherit something safer.”

The new market, a collaboration between the National Government and Nairobi County, is set to host over 1,700 traders. Inside, modern, organised spaces replace the haphazard rows of old stalls. Features such as a basement parking lot, a day-care centre, a youth hub, a cold room, and a dedicated hardware section are designed not only to make trading safer but also more sustainable.

Beyond the physical infrastructure, the project has sparked a smaller, yet equally significant revolution: employment.

Construction has provided hundreds of local jobs, from masons and carpenters to electricians and cleaners.

For some, like 28-year-old John Otieno, who has been working on the site since it broke ground, it is a rare chance to earn steady income in an economy that often leaves young people on the margins.

“Being part of this project gives me pride,” Otieno says, wiping sweat from his brow as he lays bricks on the top floor.

“We are not just building a market; we are building futures—for traders, for ourselves, and for this community.”

More from Kenya

Somalia Faces Constitutional Crisis Ahead of 2026 Elections, warns Khaire

Somali PM Praises Strong Somalia–China Ties

The design itself reflects lessons learned from past tragedies.

The building is fire-resistant, with proper emergency exits and wider aisles for easy evacuation. Electricity is safely wired, reducing the risk that decades of neglect and improvisation once posed. Traders who have witnessed the destruction firsthand say these features mean more than convenience—they mean survival.

For many vendors, Gikomba is more than a market. It is a way of life.

It has nurtured generations, a place where children grow up learning the art of selling, where families depend on daily earnings to put food on the table. For them, each burned stall represented not just financial loss but a blow to community, identity, and hope.

Now, as Block D nears completion, optimism is tangible. The air, once thick with smoke and anxiety, is filled instead with the sounds of hammers, drills, and laughter from construction workers.

Traders imagine a future where business thrives uninterrupted, where families can work without fear, and where children can play in safe surroundings while their parents trade.

“This is the future,” says Mwangi, her eyes scanning the rising structure.

“We have survived fire. We have survived uncertainty. Now we will thrive.”

The story of Gikomba is still being written, but Block D stands as a symbol that even markets built on hardship can rise stronger.

It is a testament to resilience, community, and the belief that with the right support, the places that define a city’s spirit can endure—and flourish.

In the heart of Nairobi, Gikomba is shedding its past of ashes and stepping boldly into a safer, brighter future.