A Kenyan community radio station, Ghetto FM, went off air after a midnight fire destroyed theÂÂÂ
building that houses it, writes Dennis Itumbi.
The fire destroyed the station's studio and equipment.
The station serves Narobi's Eastlands on 99.9 FM, using the slogan Amplifying The Voice for the Voiceless. GHETTO FM
targets the most vulnerable members of the community including women children and the youth in the slum areas.
Lucy Maathai, the project coordinator of the Slums Information Development And Resource Center (Sidarec), the group that runs the station, said in a brief
phone interview, "we lost everything, but no-one was hurt, in characteristic slum style we will bounce back…I can tell you we will
be on air very soon."
Man Wazimu, one of the main presenters at the station who was in the studio when the fire broke out, said: "Fire broke out at
Sidarec Pumwani resource centre which houses Ghetto 99.9 fm. The fire was noticed at approximately 1:10am and the neighbours raised theÂÂÂ
alarm."
He said by the time the fire engine arrived around 2:30am, the fire was aleady burning fiercely, "overwhelming the residents and the
few Ghetto 99.9 fm staff who were valiantly trying to fight the fire".
Ghetto Fm burnt down just hours after a major fire broke out in Nakumatt Supermarket in the middle of Nairobi town. This blaze
threatened several other buildings, before a combined effort by security forces stopped it just as it was getting to Nation Centre –
which houses the Nation Media Group.
