Hundreds of traders took to the streets of Kamukunji, Nairobi, on Thursday, October 29, to protest eviction orders from the Kamukunji Business Centre. Footage obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed the traders marching through the area with placards and twigs, singing as they walked. Hundreds of onlookers watched from the storey buildings nearby.
The anger comes after the collapse of a 16-storey building in Eastleigh on Friday, October 3. That incident left people trapped and tens still unaccounted for. Multi-agency teams are still searching the site along 9th Street, and authorities have kept strict restrictions around the area.
Since the collapse, businesses and traders across the road from the scene have been ordered to close. Authorities say the collapse may have weakened the structure of other buildings nearby, and this includes the Kamukunji Business Centre, which sits some distance away from the fallen building. It is this concern about safety that has led to the eviction orders.
Kamukunji Member of Parliament Yusuf Hassan has asked the authorities to allow a partial reopening of the market so that local traders can continue earning. Even so, Nairobi North Regional Commissioner Simon Osumba maintained that the building is as dangerous now as it was at the time of the collapse.
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