City Hall to arrest hawkers, customers for selling and buying goods in undesignated areas
Mosiria added that although the county supports livelihoods, there must also be respect for public spaces and the law.
Nairobians who buy goods from hawkers operating in unauthorised areas now risk arrest, as the Nairobi City County Government steps up efforts to restore order in the city.
In a statement, Geoffrey Mosiria, Nairobi’s Chief Officer for Environment, said both hawkers and their customers would face legal action for obstructing walkways and contributing to public disorder.
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“While hawkers have been allocated designated backlanes to operate from, many continue to block pedestrian walkways, inconveniencing city residents and compromising public safety. We are stepping up enforcement efforts to ensure compliance,” Mosiria said.
Mosiria added that although the county supports livelihoods, there must also be respect for public spaces and the law.
“Operating in undesignated areas is a violation of county bylaws,” he said. “And knowingly purchasing goods from illegal vendors will now be treated as an offence.”
He noted that some hawkers deliberately create scenes to attract public sympathy when asked to vacate by enforcement officers, but insisted that emotional appeals could not override the law.
In January 2025, Governor Johnson Sakaja directed that all hawkers in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) should operate only in designated backstreets between Tom Mboya Street and Kirinyaga Road. Trading hours were also restricted to 4 pm and 10 pm, Monday to Saturday.
“The designated backstreets are within the zone from Tom Mboya Street to Kirinyaga Road. No hawking will be permitted on the main streets and roads,” read the notice.
Major roads such as Moi Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Kenneth Matiba Road, Latema Road, Ronald Ngala Street, Mfangano Street, Hakati Road and River Road were declared out of bounds for hawkers.
The county emphasised that walkways in the CBD were strictly reserved for pedestrians and not for business activity. It warned that anyone violating these rules would face prosecution under Nairobi City County Government by-laws.
For decades, managing hawkers in the CBD has been a challenge for successive administrations. In 2023, Governor Sakaja’s administration designated specific lanes in the lower CBD for hawkers. On October 25, 2023, Sakaja ordered a crackdown on hawkers in the CBD.
“There will be no hawking on the road. In fact, I’m enforcing it even around the bus station. I will not allow that. Nairobi will be a city of order and dignity. There will be no hawking on roads, and that is not negotiable,” he said.
The crackdown, however, lasted only two days and failed to deliver a lasting solution.
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