Stalls built and painted by county government also demolished

Traders of Mutindwa market are in a dilemma after the road side market was demolished early this morning by the Nairobi City County officials. [Courtesy]

The county government on Thursday demolished illegal structures in Eastlands.

In the morning, excavators brought down stalls, eateries and pubs at Mutindwa market and Buruburu shopping centre.

The owners of the businesses and their workers watched helplessly from a distance.

Similar demolitions were carried out in Fedha where dozens of traders were barred from accessing their businesses during the operations.

Traders at Mutindwa, Buruburu and Fedha claimed they never got notices. A few claimed they were verbally told to move out.

Their merchandise

Some traders had already moved their merchandise when the exercise began while others raced to salvage their goods before the excavator got to their structures.

After the dawn operation at Fedha, traders slowly started trooping in, with some rebuilding their kiosks while others used makeshift structures covered with umbrellas.

Some left the scene dejected, after after their stock was destroyed during the demolitions.

Ironically in Buruburu, kiosks that had been put up by the City Hall complete with its logo, were also demolished leaving questions as to what informed the decision.

But in Fedha some stalls were left untouched despite being built on a road reserve.

Geoffrey Nyatike, a grocer in Fedha, watched helplessly as his fruits were crashed and others swept into a trench filled with garbage.

“My stock of Sh12, 000 was destroyed... I arrived in the morning to find there was nothing to salvage,” said Mr Nyatike.

Nyatike, 32, like many other traders, admits his stall was on a road reserve but said his operations were not a threat to traffic.

“When the road is being repaired we always cooperate by removing our stalls. But now the road reserve is idle and we are not interrupting anything. We should be allowed to do business,” said Nyatike.

Peter Mbaya, City Hall operations director, told The Standard the county government was determined to bring down all illegal structures.