The County Government of Nairobi has issued a notice to hawkers ordering them to vacate major streets along various roads in the Central Business District (CBD).
- The notice posted on the 6th January 2025, requested hawkers to move to backstreets and lanes between Tom Mboya street and Kirinyaga Road.
- Hawkers will also be allowed to run their businesses along these designated areas between 4 pm and 10 pm in the evening.
- The notice signed by the Nairobi County Secretary Godfrey Akumali also bans hawking along Moi Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Kenneth Matiba Road, Latema Road, Ronald Ngala Street, Mfangano Street, Hakati Road and River Road.
“The general public is asked to take note that anyone contravening this notice will be prosecuted within the Nairobi City County Government by-law,” the notice said.
While the move is primarily driven by a desire to restore order in the capital, hawkers selling merchandise along major streets are a common sight in the city. A similar move to ban hawkers from certain streets was made in 2023 by Governor Johnson Sakaja.
Decongesting the streets by trying to push hawkers into backstreets and registering them has not been easy due to the political and economic repercussions that come with it.
