Nairobi: How Sakaja's Sh100m stalls were turned into toilets

Decades of disruption, billions in public funds, and countless political promises have failed to resolve a crisis that is as visible as it is volatile: street hawking in Nairobi’s Central Business District.

The capital’s commercial heart remains mired in congestion, conflict and clutter, as successive city administrations struggle — and stumble — in efforts to relocate thousands of informal traders who dominate its streets, lanes and walkways.

Hawking in the CBD has long been a stubborn headache whose remedy remains elusive. For decades, Nairobi’s leadership has attempted various solutions — from building open-air and closed markets in satellite areas to periodic crackdowns — yet the problem persists.

Even when authorities momentarily clear street vendors, they swiftly return, often in greater numbers. The influx of new entrants only exacerbates the challenge. The lack of robust, enforceable by-laws has allowed the issue to fester, with hawking widely blamed for making the city centre unsightly, chaotic and insecure.

Over the years, street battles have become a familiar scene — defiant hawkers clashing with city askaris deployed to push them out of town. The sheer scale of the occupation is staggering: virtually every road, alley or pedestrian walkway is taken up by traders selling everything from clothes, shoes, mobile phones and electronics to toys and foodstuffs.

From dawn to dusk, these small-scale traders flood the CBD, blocking streets, generating waste, and disrupting businesses.

During his 2022 gubernatorial campaign, Governor Johnson Sakaja pledged to address the hawking issue with a humane and structured approach. He promised not to eject hawkers, but rather to provide designated spaces where they could operate with dignity.

That commitment, however, appears to be faltering. Despite multiple interventions, Sakaja’s administration is yet to achieve meaningful progress.

Day care centres

Last year, the county unveiled an ambitious plan to decongest the CBD by relocating hawkers to designated backstreet lanes. These included parts of Moi Avenue stretching towards the bus station.

The county marked specific spaces and installed roofing along some of these lanes to shield traders during the rainy season — a project that cost Sh100 million, approved in the 2023/24 financial year.

Sakaja later announced the budget had been doubled to improve hygiene and provide secure stalls, including facilities like day care centres for breastfeeding mothers.

The plan was to accommodate around 5,000 hawkers. Each stall — painted in yellow and green stripes — measured 3-by-3 feet and was situated on clear pedestrian paths.

But one year later, the initiative seems to have collapsed. Most hawkers have refused to relocate, dismissing the backstreets as dark, unsafe alleys. Only two out of the 27 planned lanes are in use.

What was intended as a dignified solution has instead turned into an urban nuisance. Stalls along Dubois Lane and Kenneth Matiba Road have been abandoned and repurposed as open-air toilets. In the early hours and at night, people use them to relieve themselves, creating a health hazard and worsening the city’s already grim sanitation crisis.

The foul conditions are driving out some of the traders who initially took up stalls. Many now describe the backstreet hawker project as a white elephant — expensive, neglected, and largely non-functional. 

“The project collapsed because the county did not involve the right people, they just came up with the plan without understanding the ground,” observes Francis Gachanja, secretary general of hawker’s association.

A spot check by The Nairobian found vandalised stalls, poor maintenance, and visible neglect.

Peter Njoroge, a trader, expressed disappointment in both the county assembly and the governor’s office for failing to provide effective oversight and follow-through.

“It’s the County Assembly that allocates funds and gives them to the governor’s office for implementation. The local MCA is supposed to oversee the process — but none of that happened,” said Njoroge. He accused the county of lacking commitment.

Matatu operators

The plan also faced resistance from matatu operators who refused to vacate some of the designated lanes, claiming them as termini. This has led to frequent clashes between hawkers, matatu crews, and even street families.

Another trader, Silas Kimani, revealed another layer of sabotage. “Some people have erected metallic gates on both ends of certain lanes like Dubois, Luthuli and Taveta, effectively blocking access — allegedly to stop the area being used as toilets,” he said. He claims the gates could not have been installed without approval from City Hall.

Kimani believes the project is being sabotaged not to succeed, and some of those behind the disruption seat within City Hall. 

 “Those behind the vandalism are insiders. Some of the materials are even lying at Central Police Station,” Kimani alleged.

The project’s collapse has thrown Sakaja’s administration back to the drawing board, as the hawking menace continues to fuel lawlessness and urban disorder. It is a dilemma that has haunted every city regime. 

First, Governor Evans Kidero attempted — and failed — to eject the hawkers. A frustrated Kidero once blamed his frustrations on powerful cartels within City Hall who he accused of inciting traders to resist relocation.

His successor, Mike Sonko, made little headway.

Now halfway into his term, Sakaja appears no closer to a solution.

Shortly after assuming office, Sakaja ordered a crackdown on hawkers, promising to restore order. He conducted a crackdown targeting traders in the CBD where the population keeps swelling despite establishment of new markets in residential places.

“There will be no hawking on the roads. Nairobi will be a city of order and dignity — that is non-negotiable,” he declared.

The operation lasted just two days. Hawkers returned in full force, resuming their grip on pavements, blocking doorways to licensed businesses, creating garbage hotspots, and making pedestrian navigation a nightmare.

With options narrowing, Sakaja has now pinned his hopes on a proposal to construct 20 new markets in partnership with the national government.

Ironically, several modern markets — including Mwariro, Westlands, Karandini, Gikomba and Kangundo Road — have remained empty for years due to infighting among politicians and traders over allocation criteria.

As Nairobi continues to choke under the weight of unregulated hawking, the dream of a city that works — clean, orderly and inclusive — seems ever more distant. What remains is a test not just of policy, but of political will. Until then, the streets remain a battlefield.