Patron of the Democracy for Citizens (DCP) party Irungu Nyakera, and close ally of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has raised alarm over what he terms a scheme by Nairobi County to repossess market stalls from traders.
The dispute arose after county officials launched a data collection exercise across several markets from December 8, 2025.
The timing of the exercise has angered traders and their representatives, with many stall owners saying they had already closed their businesses to spend the festive season with their families when county officials moved in to collect the data.
Empty stalls were allegedly flagged as “ghost stalls” and slated for potential repossession, a move that has drawn sharp opposition from the Nairobi Market Traders’ Association, which represents thousands of traders across the city and has since lodged a formal protest against the exercise.
In a letter dated December 22, 2025, and addressed to the Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, the association raised multiple concerns about the county's approach.
"There was no official disclosure on the exercise, its scope and its intentions on collection of personal information and details of our traders which is of total suspect, bad faith and illegal," the association stated in their letter.
The traders' body accused the county of conducting the exercise without proper notice or consultation.
Association Chairman Moses Wenani, alongside Secretary Samwel Mundara and Treasurer Samuel King'ori, signed the strongly worded letter.
They argued that stall owners were not given adequate time to present themselves for registration.
The exercise also created confusion, with some employees being registered as stall owners while actual owners were recorded as sub-letters.
"The exercise is going to bring conflict and confusion in the market and affect order and smooth operations as stipulated in county laws which can turn out to be chaotic," the association warned.
The traders have demanded an immediate suspension of the exercise until proper briefing and consultation are conducted.
By the time of the publication of this story, the Nairobi county government had yet to respond to the allegations.
