Chaos erupted on Friday, July 25, after police officers used teargas to disperse traders who had blocked the Kyumbi–Machakos Road at Miwani in Machakos Town.
The traders took to the streets to protest the demolition of their business structures earlier that morning.
Images obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed protesters lighting fires and barricading the busy road, bringing traffic to a standstill.
The demonstrations disrupted transport along the route, prompting police to intervene and disperse the crowd using teargas canisters.
The traders reported that their stalls and kiosks were brought down around 1 am without any prior warning or eviction notice.
They claimed that their business structures were demolished by the Machakos County enforcement officers.
One of the traders recounted receiving a late-night call informing him that bulldozers were at his business premises. Upon rushing to the scene, he discovered that his under-construction kiosk, valued at Ksh60,000, had been destroyed.
"I received a phone call from a friend who told me all was not well, that our structures had been pulled down by bulldozers at night. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I rushed to the scene."
"We have lost our livelihoods. We could have removed our belongings if they had issued eviction notices," the trader narrated.
According to Governor Wavinya Ndeti's administration, the destroyed business structures were built on road reserves.
She said the demolition was legally conducted by the county government since the traders were operating against the law.
The protest comes a few months after traders from Kamwangi Town, Kiambu County, also demonstrated after their central market was demolished overnight on May 20.
It was reported that the demolition took place after traders in the town rejected the market project initiated by President William Ruto. The old market was demolished to pave the way for a modern facility.
