City Hall to relocate Ruai market traders ahead of Kangundo Road expansion

Open air market traders at Nairobi's Ruai ward, facing uncertainties over operating on road reserves, can now breathe a sigh of relief after City Hall agreed to relocate them to a new site.

The road reserve is set to undergo rehabilitation to expand Kangundo Road for increased motorist traffic.

"The Cabinet has directed the urgent identification of an alternative site to accommodate the Ruai open-air market traders," read the Nairobi County cabinet dispatch on Tuesday.

The traders include vegetable vendors, clothes sellers, shoe hawkers, and those vending building materials.

The County Government of Nairobi had issued the traders with an eviction notice but concerns were raised of not providing an alternative trading place.

Several engagement meetings between the county and the traders have been held to come up with a solution where both parties will benefit.

Representatives from the Kenya Police Service and Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) have also been attending the meetings.

Illegal encroachment

Occupying a road reserve can be referred to as illegal encroachment, which is breaching Section 49 (a) of the Kenya Roads Act.

The Roads Act prohibits any unauthorised structure or thing on, over or below the surface of a road reserve.

However open traders in various areas have decried the lack of availability of public markets thus pushing them to settle on roadsides and reserves.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja noted that the new location should not compromise accessibility or profitability.

"The County Government will provide the necessary support to facilitate a smooth transition to the new site, ensuring that the traders can resume their activities with minimal interruption," he said.

Kangundo Road which is one of Nairobi's busiest roads is set to be a dual carriage.

KeNHA had already embarked on this project to ease traffic jams from Mombasa Road by linking it up to the Eastern Bypass.

The increasing property value in areas proxy to the city and its immediate outskirts, as well as the infrastructural development by the government in areas considered Metropolitan, has seen investors in the real estate sector go to far areas where huge and affordable land is available.

As a result, Kangundo Road has seen a great influx of Nairobi residents rushing to the area.