Njuguna's Place fire incident no cause for alarm — management

Njuguna's Place on Waiyaki Way in Nairobi. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The management at Njuguna's Place, a nyama choma joint on Waiyaki Way, Westlands, has clarified that the reported early morning fire incident was nothing out of the usual.

Macharia Njuguna, the supervisor on duty, dismissed the video that went viral showing a fire and smoke billowing from the restaurant's kitchen area.

"There was no fire emergency as such, what the video showed was just the usual smoke that goes up the chimney when we light up fire for roasting meat," Mr Njuguna said.

He said the only reason the fire caused an alarm that day was because they did not light it as early as they usually do every morning.

"Normally, we light the fire by 6am,'' he said.

During a visit to the joint, normal activities were going on with tens of customers enjoying meat.

However, despite the management's denial, electricians in blue overalls were fixing new electrical wires at the wall next to the kitchen.

"You can see people are busy feasting on roast beef as usual; there was no fire here. I am surprised that that incident has spread to the entire nation in such a short time," Mr Njuguna said.

A video was posted early today showing a section of the restaurant covered by fire.

Kenyans went to social media to share the clip that elicited a lot of reactions.

Edward Opany, a frequent customer at the joint, expressed his concern, saying the fire incident might be true.

"That fire may be true, at times I hear gas hissing at their kitchen as I eat there," he told the Nation.

As at now, all is back to normal at the restaurant with the management confirming that the fire incident was nothing out of the usual in their daily activities.