Babu Owino criticises Nairobi crackdown on hawkers, calls for dialogue and better planning

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has criticised the treatment of hawkers in the capital, condemning what he described as “inhuman” crackdowns and relocations that push traders away from potential customers.

Speaking on Radio Generation on Monday, Owino argued that such measures ignore the economic realities facing many traders and instead punish those struggling to survive.

“Number one, I believe in leadership, where you can dialogue. You don't need to treat fellow human beings… in a very inhuman way, where they are beaten. You take their food,” he said, arguing that many informal traders survive on daily earnings from small-scale sales.

“A lot of people don’t even have money… could only get one meal… that tells you that this is wrong leadership,” the lawmaker added.

His remarks come amid longstanding tensions between street vendors and Nairobi City County Government enforcement teams, who have frequently conducted operations to remove hawkers from the central business district.

In 2025, county authorities warned residents against buying from unlicensed street traders, citing congestion, sanitation concerns and the need to restore order in the city centre.

Owino questioned the logic behind relocating hawkers to designated markets away from busy areas.

“You said you're constructing markets for them… where you are constructing the markets, are there clients? Why do you want to hide hawkers… where there are no clients?” he asked. “Why don't you build markets where there can be influx of people, where they can get a market?”

He argued that such policies undermine livelihoods by disconnecting traders from the foot traffic they rely on. Instead, he proposed a more integrated urban planning approach linking transport and commerce.

“I was planning to work on something very interesting… you introduce an electric train within Nairobi… just two, three lines… Jogoo Road,” he said, suggesting that structured drop-off points could naturally attract traders.

“The place of those dropping points… hawkers will automatically come there… it's a clever way of creating a marketplace,” he added.

The MP also maintained that enforcement-heavy approaches are counterproductive.

“You don't hide them. You don't beat them. You don't take them to back streets,” he said. “That is not leadership… that is something else.”

His proposal adds to ongoing debate over how to balance order in Nairobi’s central business district with the economic realities of thousands of informal traders who depend on street vending for survival.