Sarit Centre bosses hold crisis meeting

Sarit Centre bosses hold crisis meeting

Sarit Centre managers were on Saturday holed up in a crisis meeting following an inferno that gutted a section of the mall the previous day.

Reports indicated that owners of businesses within the mall were not being allowed to enter.

Earlier on Saturday, the management issued a statement saying that Sarit Centre would remain closed to give them time to check the extent of the damage.

“We would like to inform the public that The Sarit Centre will be closed today, Saturday 5th May, as we assess the damage caused by yesterday’s incident and begin clean up operations,” the statement reads.

The mall has over 100 tenants including banks, bookshops, medical centers, electronic outlets, mobile network operators, travel agents, restaurants, clothes shops among many others.

Safaricom, with one of its shops at Sarit Centre, also issued a statement to its clients informing them of the closure.

“Please note that due to unavoidable circumstances our Sarit Centre shop remains closed. Please use our shop at the Westgate mall located on the first floor. We apologise for any inconveniences,” the statement reads.

Carrefour, a French retailer, recently signed a deal to take up space previously occupied by Uchumi Supermarket on second floor.

Its move to Sarit Centre made it the fifth of its kind after opening branches at the Hub Mall in Karen, Two Rivers Mall in Gigiri, Junction Mall in Kilimani and one at Thika Road Mall.

The fire at Sarit Centre on Friday reportedly emanated from a copier shop on ground floor and in less than an hour, the management indicated that it had been contained.

However, a few minutes later, thick smoke was seen billowing from the roof of the building casting doubts that it had been put out.

On further investigation, CitizenTV discovered raging flames spreading to other shops within the mall.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that the inferno was later fueled by leather products within Bata Shoe store.

Sarit Centre located in Westlands, is Nairobi City’s oldest mall and recently underwent renovation and expansion at a cost of Ksh.4 billion.

Additional reporting by Laura Otieno

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Westgate Mall attack. Carrefour opens first store at the Hub Sarit Centre

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