NAIROBI: Demos Erupt Over Local Market Land Grab
Protests erupted in Nairobi’s Umoja 2 Estate as a group of residents, primarily shopkeepers, demonstrated against a foreign developer’s purported plans to take their land.
The dissatisfied people came to the streets on Thursday morning to protest, accusing the private developer of seeking to take the communal market site.
During the demonstrations, protesters ignited bonfires along the feeder roads that lead to Kangundo Road as they marched with placards and sticks.
According to the traders, the contested land belongs to the government and is currently in the hands of the Nairobi County administration, and they have been using the market for years.
While demonstrating, residents urged Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and county Senator Edwin Sifuna to intervene and help secure the market land from the suspected grabber.
Protests erupted in Nairobi’s Umoja 2 Estate on Thursday as traders marched with placards and lit bonfires along feeder roads leading to Kangundo Road, accusing a foreign developer of attempting to seize land used for their community market.
— Nyakundi Report (@NyakundiReport) November 27, 2025
The vendors claim the disputed plot… pic.twitter.com/dGoUeWKzoC
“We are lamenting because we have been denied our rights as residents of Umoja 2; we are trying to protect our market from a foreigner who wants to grab the market land,” said one of the protesters.
“We are doing this for what is rightfully ours because this market is a community market. How dare you take the land which belongs to the community?” she added.
The villagers said that, despite the fact that the case was still pending in court, the foreign developer had repeatedly attempted to seize the land for no apparent reason.
As a result, they urged the court to issue a decision on the disputed piece of property as soon as possible in order to settle the situation, stating that they would continue to demonstrate until their concerns were heard.
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According to one of the shopkeepers, if the court grants the developer the site, they risk losing over 300 establishments, shops, and booths in the market.
“This is our land; it belongs to the community, and in fact, the court is yet to issue a ruling on this issue; we urge the court to deliver the ruling promptly so that we can settle this stalemate,” said another protester.
Despite the protests, which went on for several hours, there was no police presence, with shops in the area remaining closed, and transport was disrupted.
NAIROBI: Demos Erupt Over Local Market Land Grab
