Suneka: Night fire destroys stalls, leaves traders counting losses

The fire started around 10 pm after the traders had celebrated Christmas. 

The agonising traders watched their property go up in flames as firefighters from the county government of Kisii took long to arrive at the scene.

When eventually the fire engine arrived, the fire had already consumed most of the stalls as the owners watched in disbelief. 

Their woes were compounded when the fire engine ran out of water, abandoned the mission on the way as it went for more. 

The traders called on the county government to deploy a fire engine to the Bonchari sub-county to avert such disasters in the future.

Some of the traders on the scene were engulfed in emotion, saying they had taken loans to start the businesses. 

They asked leaders from the region to come to their aid, saying with January approaching and their children going back to school, this is a huge setback for them.