The Nairobi City County Government has issued a new directive regulating hawking activities within the Central Business District (CBD).
In a public notice dated January 6, 2025, Acting County Secretary and Head of County Public Service Godfrey Akumali outlined new guidelines to ensure order and pedestrian safety within the CBD.
According to the notice, hawking will now only be permitted on designated backstreets and lanes from Monday to Saturday between 4:00 PM and 10:00 PM.
The backstreets approved for hawking activities fall within the zone stretching from Tom Mboya Street to Kirinyaga Road.
"No hawking will be allowed on the main streets and roads, i.e., Moi Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Kenneth Matiba Road, Latema Road, Ronald Ngala Street, Mfangano Street, Hakati Road, and River Road," the notice states.
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Additionally, all walkways within the CBD are designated strictly for pedestrians, and trading activities will not be allowed in these areas.
The county government has warned that any individuals found violating the new regulations will face prosecution.
"The general public is asked to take note that anyone contravening this notice will be prosecuted within the Nairobi City County by-law," the notice concluded.
Notably, this comes three months after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja issued a warning to hawkers selling goods in the newly constructed walkways at the Nairobi CBD.
In a statement on September 4, 2024, after inspecting the ongoing construction of the footpaths, the Nairobi Governor said the walkways are meant for pedestrians and not hawkers.
Sakaja said his administration would take action on hawkers found hawking on the refurbished walkways.
“Inspected ongoing works around the CBD while interacting with Wananchi who provided a lot of wonderful feedback on the walkways improvement that's ongoing on key roads. The new walkways are for pedestrians and not hawking. We will enforce this strictly,” he said.
