Traders operating along Thika Road in Githurai are counting losses after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) demolished roadside structures in a police-backed operation.
The demolitions were carried out on the evening of Wednesday, February 18, with excavators flattening makeshift kiosks, metal stalls, perimeter fences and other semi-permanent structures erected on road reserves.
According to KeNHA officials, the operation followed a seven-day notice issued to traders encroaching on sections of the Thika Superhighway at Roysambu and Githurai. However, several traders claimed they were caught unaware, with some goods still inside their stalls at the time of the demolition.
Images circulating online showed bulldozers bringing down the temporary structures as traders watched from a distance under heavy police presence.
Earlier in the day, tensions had escalated after residents protested the planned exercise, arguing that the move was abrupt and lacked adequate public participation and a clear relocation framework. Demonstrators barricaded a section of the highway near the Githurai overpass and lit tyres, briefly paralysing traffic along the busy corridor.
Police officers were later deployed to disperse the crowd and oversee the demolition exercise.
KeNHA maintained that the clearance was necessary to pave way for construction of new bus bays at Roysambu and Githurai, aimed at easing congestion and improving safety along the highway.
In a notice dated February 9, the authority directed roadside traders to vacate the road reserve within seven days.
KeNHA Director General Luka Kimeli said the new bus bays are expected to reduce traffic snarl-ups and minimise accidents linked to unregulated matatu stops and roadside trading.
The exercise adds to ongoing efforts by authorities to reclaim road reserves and streamline transport infrastructure along the Thika Superhighway.
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