Structures in different sections below the Nairobi Expressway in the Westlands region were on the morning of Thursday, April 18 brought down by authorities.
In a video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the structures were engulfed in flames as police officers moved to crack down on illegal establishments put up along the road.
The operation being undertaken by the police led to a heavy traffic snarl up along the stretch.
Homeless people and street children depend on the shelter below the Expressway to erect structures that serve as makeshift homes.
Occasionally, motorists who frequently use the route have in the past complained about this trend warning that it poses a serious security threat, especially at night.
The operation follows a strict approach by the government on reacquisition of public land either grabbed or encroached on by Kenyans for various reasons.
The crackdown is led by the Ministry of Lands which is in the process of collecting data of all public land either grabbed or encroached on to recover the said land.
According to the latest census conducted in Kenya, over 46,639 Kenyans live on the streets, with Nairobi county leading the statistics with 15,337.
Of these, 17,747 are men while 2,348 comprise women.
The dire situation is often caused by the rate of unemployment in the country with the number of workers living in extreme poverty growing by one million in 2023 according to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
In comparison, the number of workers living in moderate poverty (earning less than Ksh582 per person) increased by 8.4 million.
As part of the plans to revamp the city, Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja promised to mop up street families from the Central Business District (CBD).
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