NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 4 – The High Court has ordered that conditions at Muthurwa Market and surrounding areas along the Nairobi River remain unchanged while it considers an urgent application filed by local traders.
“The current status quo on the suit land shall be maintained,” the court ruled.
The traders, represented by lawyer Babu Owino, told the court they received a 14-day demolition notice threatening multi-storey residential and commercial buildings belonging to over 3,000 residents.
They are seeking to stop the alleged demolitions and evictions, claiming that only informal and economically vulnerable settlements along the river are being targeted.
The court certified the case as urgent and set the inter partes hearing for March 10, 2026. Respondents must file their responses within two days of being served, and petitioners may submit supplementary affidavits in reply.
The application seeks temporary and substantive orders to restrain respondents or their agents from interfering with properties along the Nairobi River, including Blue Estate, Bahati Annex, Kamukunji, Gikomba Open Air Market, Gikomba Cloth Market, and nearby areas.
Petitioners argue that they are lawful proprietors with constitutionally protected interests and that the threatened demolitions would violate rights to property, housing, dignity, and fair administrative action under Articles 28, 40, 43, and 47 of the Constitution.
They also challenge the blanket enforcement of a 30-metre riparian reserve, insisting that boundaries should be determined scientifically and contextually.
The petition raises concerns over selective enforcement, claiming that vulnerable settlements are disproportionately targeted while others remain untouched, contrary to the Constitution’s equality provisions.
The case will proceed on Tuesday next week
