Detectives called as town hall fire burns sensitive files

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Detectives were alerted Tuesday, August 3, after a fire broke out in the Nairobi City Hall annex, burning crucial files.

The fire incident raised eyebrows among employees after employees fear deceptive people are seeking to destroy evidence in accounts and human resources departments to cover up corruption.

Senior government officials rushed to the scene to reassure their workers that all was well after the blaze was quickly put out.

Anne Kananu Mwenda, appointed Deputy Governor of Nairobi, at a past event.

File

The director of communications in the office of Deputy Governor Elkana Jacob said Kenyans.co.ke that it was not the first time that Town Hall caught fire, but called the latest incident minor.

“Nairobi Deputy Governor Anne Kananu has authorized the relevant agencies to investigate the cause of the fire and prepare a full report on the matter,” said Jacob.

DCI officers at the scene struggled to investigate the case as unruly workers shouted at Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) officials.

In a similar incident in Migori County on September 24, 2017, a fire burned down the purchasing office and destroyed computers and merchandise receipts worth around Ksh1.5 billion.

This made it difficult for the Auditor General to keep track of the county’s spending budget as crucial information was lost.

The county had alleged that at the time of the fire, the supply store contained tender documents, work orders, cash vouchers, cash books and bank statements.

“The expenses for the year 2017 to 2018 could not be counted due to the lack of relevant documents and financial records which would have been burned during the fire, which limited the scope,” said the former Auditor General Edward Ouko.

City Hall’s biggest hell happened in 2004 when a fire ripped through several floors of the building, destroying the city’s sewer, town planning and cable records. No casualties were reported.

It took five hours to bring the blaze under control because the council’s fire trucks were unable to cope on their own and ran out of water.

This was because there were no functioning fire hydrants near the historic building.

Following a crisis meeting of senior ministers, Vice President Moody Awori warned of speculation the fire was started on purpose.

A file image of the town hall

A file image of the town hall

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