Business owners along Manyanja Road in Embakasi, Nairobi woke up to stare at the debris of their premises which were brought down on Friday night, July 9.
In a video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the traders sat pensively outside, lamenting that they were caught off-guard by the demolishers.
Some of them alleged that they were not offered the opportunity to salvage their property. amounting to millions.
"It is absurd that the President (Uhuru Kenyatta) can launch businesses and projects at night while ours are destroyed," one trader could be heard lamenting.
Another added that they would oppose the government until 2022 and usher in a new regime that supports the youth and promotes trader's welfare.
"I support the bottom-up approach and the hustler rhetoric. We are hustlers," the trader complained.
The land is under contest between traders who were accused of illegally settling in the area and government agencies.
Demolitions have been carried out in phases since 2018. In 2020, a notice was issued to 600 residents in Embakasi, Nairobi to vacate after Kenya Power successfully convinced the High Court that they had encroached on its power line way-leave.
Kenya Power had been ordered to demolish residential houses, commercial buildings, industrial units, schools and churches.
Other government entities such as Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA), Kenya Railways Corporation (KR), Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) and Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) also reclaimed land in several Nairobi estates.
"Persons who have settled on the railway reserve land within Nairobi and its environs must vacate to give way to implementation of the Nairobi Railway Masterplan,” KR announced.
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