This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
On Friday morning, Nairobi's Outer Ring Road was brought to a standstill as residents lit tyres to protest the lack of access to Korogocho market.
The blockage of the market was caused by contractors who have been demolishing residential houses in Korogocho and Kariobangi North for the past week, according to Patrick Maina, chairman of the Korogocho Market Traders' Association.
After demolishing the structures, the contractors dug trenches around the market, leaving it without passageways.
"The people who carried out the recent demolitions told us they wanted to install culverts, and so they dug up the road all the way to the river. It was cut on both sides of the market," Mr Maina told Nation on May 8, 2020.
Mr Maina said the market has a title deed registered to the Korogocho Market Traders' Association, with a membership of about 3,000 people, and an estimated 5,000 people rely on the market for business.
"We have no war with the government, but we want our right of access maintained," said Mr Maina. "We decided that because they have blocked our access, the government should intervene and show us what we can do and give a lasting solution," he added.
