Mradi residents slowly rising from ashes after fire tragedy

Mradi village in Embakasi was razed by fire in February last year, killing 10 people, injuring 300 and destroying businesses.

But the fierce fire did not dim residents’ hopes and they are slowly rising from the ashes.

Residents are finding ways of resurrecting their enterprises and rebuilding their lives.

In January last year, Rose Wanyoike was upbeat about the fresh year, planning to start a building project in her rural home from the proceeds of her business, only for her world to be upended shortly.

 She ran a boutique in Mradi and it was growing fast. She had operated the business for three years and set up an M-Pesa business.

“Building was the next project I had in mind. I wanted to put up a modest house upcountry in Murang’a because my business was promising,” Wanyoike said.

But on February 2, tragedy struck after a gas tank exploded in the dead of night.

Her boutique and all the equipment in it were destroyed.

The M-Pesa shop, which was also doing well, was razed.

“I was lucky to have escaped with my life because I stay in Donholm. My losses could have been more if I stayed around,” she said.

The Star encountered the 44-year-old mother of two in Mradi, the very area where her sweat was licked by fire, trying to reconstruct her life.

Like many businesses around rising from the ashes, she now operates a makeshift stall selling fruits.

Amid long pauses, Wanyoike said her world came crashing down when the fire struck, taking her many steps back in life.

“It had taken so much work and painful sacrifices to stock up and operate. I had taken a loan and I had just completed paying up, that is why I was now on the agenda of putting up the rural structure. It is a huge downgrade,” she narrated.

 But Wanyoike, like majority of residents, is resilient.

“Most of the structures here were not these makeshift mabati structures. They were decent structures where businesses were professionally run. But the fire took us back. We are rebuilding our businesses and will even be better,” James Nyaboke, who ran a butchery, said. He is also back in business, but now in a smaller mabati structure.

Geoffrey Wanyama worked as a cobbler and that night, he had shoes of 20 clients he kept in his store. They all went up in flames.

“The customers understood the tragedy and did not give me trouble. What is troubling me is that the fire destroyed my dreams and livelihood,” he said.

From his work, Wanyama sustained his family.

He also had plans to make progress on key milestones in his life. But a resilient Wanyama is not about to give up yet.

He got another space and is ready to start again.

“We cannot give up.”

At Maxxis Energy Limited where the explosion occurred, there are shells of tankers and lorries.

Armed police officers keep guard. The owner has since been arraigned on charges of manslaughter.