Kenya mourns double-disaster deaths

Feb 2, 2009, 11:46 GMT

Nairobi - Kenya on Monday began a week of official mourning for around 130 people who died in a supermarket blaze and a fire that broke out as people tried to siphon off fuel from an overturned petrol tanker.

President Mwai Kibaki on Sunday declared the week of mourning, saying that official functions would be cancelled and flags would be flown at half-mast.

Over 100 people died and many more were injured on Saturday evening at the scene of the tanker fire, near the town of Molo.

The official line seems to be that a dropped cigarette ignited the spilled fuel as hundreds queued to fill up their jerrycans.

Some witnesses, however, say a man deliberately started the fire after police officers at the scene asked for a bribe to allow him to collect fuel.

The tanker fire came only three days after the downtown branch of Nakumatt, a popular supermarket chain, caught fire.

So far, 27 people have been confirmed dead in the supermarket. Recovery operations are still ongoing and more bodies are expected to be uncovered in the rubble as almost 50 people have been reported missing.

The cause of the fire in Nakumatt is unclear, but many people died after being trapped on the first floor and staff have been accused of locking doors to prevent looting, thus preventing people from escaping.

The response to both disasters drew criticism, with a critical eye being cast on the role of Kenya's disaster management body. Newspaper editorials blamed the authorities for failing to react quickly to the disasters.

Others saw the disasters as a trial from God, with many calling and texting into TV stations to say that Kenyans had done something wrong and had to repent their sins.

However, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said that the tanker fire came as a direct result of poverty, warning that people were being pushed into doing 'desperate things just to get through one more day.'

Kenya earlier this month warned that some ten million people were at risk of starvation, as crops failed due to a drought and a lack of planting due to last year's post-election violence.

Hundreds of people have died in tanker fires in Africa in recent years - there have been incidents in Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana - as impoverished locals have scrabbled to scoop up fuel.