This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
Published on July 12, 2019, City Market traders in Nairobi have been receiving threats from unknown individuals, prompting them to seek protection from Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai.
The traders, led by their chairman Cyrus Kamundia, claim that hawkers are threatening their lives if they continue to push for their eviction from the market.
According to Kamundia, the traders have been receiving several threats, with the latest one stating that they won't be alive if they don't retract from pushing hawkers out of the market.
'We are not safe at all,' Kamundia said. 'We have received several threats from unknown people saying that if we won't retract from pushing hawkers out of this market, we won't be alive anymore.'
The traders argue that it's unfair for the hawkers to operate alongside them without paying licence fees to City Hall. While the hawkers pay KSh 50 annually, the traders pay close to KSh 100,000 annually to cover for licenses, health inspections, electricity bills, and other charges.
City Market traders have asked Governor Mike Sonko to allocate an empty piece of land adjacent to the market to the hawkers, in a bid to solve the rivalry.
The battle between traders and hawkers began after Sonko allowed the hawkers to carry on with their businesses freely without any restriction.
