In a hurry? Here’s a quick summary…
- Kalonzo Musyoka plans to file a lawsuit to stop the relocation of Wakulima Market traders, arguing the market should be upgraded instead of moved.
- Traders are divided on the relocation to Kangundo Road, with some refusing to move and accusing the Nairobi County Government of having a hidden agenda
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has threatened to file a lawsuit on Monday to stop the relocation of traders from Wakulima Market, claiming there is a plan to seize the land.
During a visit to the market on Saturday, accompanied by other opposition-aligned leaders, Kalonzo urged the traders to resist the relocation and remain firm in their stance.
He announced that he had instructed his lawyer to challenge the relocation in court. “I have instructed Lawyer Njiru to file a case on Monday to stop this relocation. There is an attempt to grab the land here,” Kalonzo stated.
The leaders argued that instead of relocating the traders, the market should be upgraded, as they see no valid reason for the move.
“We will stand firm with the citizens to ensure no one is displaced. Rather than moving people to Kayole, improve this Muthurwa Market. Destroying the City Market is destroying the people of Nairobi,” Kalonzo added.
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Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu echoed the sentiments, urging traders not to allow their resources to be taken away and to reject relocation to Kayole.
He emphasized that the current market serves the people of Nairobi, and moving them would disrupt their livelihoods.
However, traders are divided over the relocation to the new facility on Kangundo Road, with some refusing to move, citing that their customer base is within Nairobi and the new market is already occupied by other traders.
This rift followed a meeting between Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and some Wakulima Market leaders, where the governor claimed an agreement to relocate had been reached.
On Saturday, a group of traders rejected Sakaja’s claims, insisting no such agreement had been made and that they would not move.
“We will stand our ground and we are not going anywhere. This market was handed down by our ancestors, and we are not leaving,” said the Wakulima Market Traders Chairperson.
The traders believe there is a hidden agenda behind the relocation, pointing out that there is enough land to accommodate everyone without needing to move to the roadside.
They insist that upgrading the Nairobi City Market is a better solution than relocating to Kangundo.
“Sakaja, when we voted for him, we were still selling at the gate. We cannot move to Kangundo. Those already in Kangundo, where will they go?” asked Lucia Ndinda Kadogoo, a trader. Another trader, Peter Munene Maumau, questioned, “Why move small-scale traders to Kangundo? Why don’t they move their offices there instead?”
The Nairobi County Government recently issued a notice for traders to relocate to the new Kangundo Road market, sparking widespread unrest and division among the traders.