Kenyan government demolishes Githurai market, claiming railway land

Illegal structures in the Githurai Kimbo market, Kenya were demolished as the government moves to clear out encroachers on railway land, according to a news report by The Star.

Traders in Githurai are counting losses after waking up to find their business premises demolished. The traders are reported to have been issued with a two-day notice in the expansion project of the railway line by Kenya Railways.

But the traders condemned the action, saying the government had killed their sources of livelihoods. "Some of us have been here since the early 2000s," they claimed.

The value of property destroyed in the demolitions was not clear as most still had their stock inside the stalls when the bulldozers descend on the market.

The incident at the Githurai market comes a day after over 500 businesses were demolished at the Mutindwa market over encroachment on the railway line.

The traders claimed that the demolitions started at around 11 pm on Monday, August 24 which is past curfew hours, leaving them no chance to salvage their goods.

Similarly, earlier in August, Traders at Marikiti market were set back after a fire destroyed their wares in what was seen as an eviction attempt.

Kenya Railways is conducting the reclamation exercise of its land reserve for construction of the Nairobi mass transit railway as it targets to serve up to 230,000 passengers a day.

Defending the project, Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga stated that the land reserve had been grabbed by politicians, churches, and businesses, noting that demolition of illegal structures was underway.

“Persons who have settled on the railway reserve land within Nairobi and its environs must vacate to give way to implementation of the Nairobi Rail Masterplan,” he warned.

The cooperation is engaged in the construction of Commuter Stations at Kikuyu, Embakasi Village, Pipeline, Donholm, Dandora, Kahawa, Ruiru, Athi River, Githurai, and Mwiki.