Nairobi traders protest demolition of kiosks

Traders at Kariobangi North, Nairobi are counting loses after their shops were demolished by City County law enforcement officers Friday morning.

The traders barricaded the Outering Road to express their anger over the decision to demolish their kiosks demanding that an explanation is given and another area allocated to them.

Led by David Wanyoike, the traders said they were not notified of the demolitions, which took place Friday dawn.

“We are so disappointed and counting losses. We did not receive any notice, meaning they county has its own agenda of getting us out of this place. If it was something benefiting the residents, then we would have been told,” said Wanyoike.

Another trader, Peter Ndichu, noted: “We want to know where the order came from and what it aimed at achieving.”

The irate traders, lit fire at the Outering Road blaming area Member of County Assembly, Michael Wainaina, for colluding with the Nairobi City County to get them out of the area.

Wainaina has, however, rubbished the claims terming them as mere politics.

“I was not aware of the happenings, as we speak I’m from the Governor’s office and he was not aware of the demolitions. I was raised from in a kibanda, I would not want to negatively impact on someone earning a livelihood for his family,” said Wainaina.

The Friday morning demos disrupted the traffic flow at the busy Outering Road even stopping the ongoing road construction for some time.