Traders at Gikomba market on Monday, January 11 staged peaceful protests after a bulldozer arrived to demolish their stalls.
The bulldozer had been sent to demolish stalls in the market on Sunday night but the operator was chased away by the traders.
The small scale businessmen had camped inside the market to protect their stalls and goods after they were issued with the eviction notices.
"I'm one of the traders in Kasusu market inside Gikomba. We have been selling here for many years but we are often disrupted by fires and eviction notices.
"The eviction notices are sometimes only for 40 minutes, yesterday we were told to leave the market," said Dorcas, who is one of the traders.
She added that the bulldozer arrived in the market at around 9 p.m but they successfully chased it away after a standoff.
The traders claim they are not sure whether it is the government issuing the eviction notices or a private developer.
The traders are now appealing to the government to step in and put the standoff to bed so that they can continue with business without fear.
Dorcas also noted that they petitioned their grievances to government officials in the area but little action has been taken.
"We are asking the county and national government to help us because we are told every time to vacate the area and we have not been shown where we will be relocated.
"We went to the District Officer's office but we got no help," added Dorcas.
In July 2020, a section of traders in Gikomba market, Nairobi woke up to find their stalls demolished.
The demolition that was conducted under police supervision was meant to pave the way for road construction in the area.
Traders demonstrate in Gikomba:
— tv47 (@nftaIienfrens) January 11, 2021
Small scale traders in Gikomba this morning staged a peaceful demonstration citing a notice that was issued to them ordering the traders to vacate and give room for the ongoing construction.#TV47News pic.twitter.com/lJSMPRcnmO
