This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
On August 1, 2019, a judge suspended an order requiring the return of traders who have been selling fish and chicken in the open space at City Market.
The order was issued by a magistrate's court last October, restraining the Nairobi County government from evicting or harassing the traders.
However, the county government argued that the traders had already been evicted when the orders were issued, and that they should be cited for contempt for disobeying a court order.
Justice Msagha Mbogholi said that the court will have to hear arguments from rival parties, including stall owners and the Nairobi County government, before granting any orders.
The judge noted that the stall owners were likely to suffer substantial loss and that by the time the lower court issued the order, they had already been evicted.
He also stated that the county government cannot be compelled to reinstate them and neither can it be punished for contempt, for failing to obey the order.
