BY IRENE ONYANGO.
Over 200 second-hand clothes dealers have been allowed to file a fresh case following their eviction from Gikomba Market by the Nairobi county government.
The 249 mitumba dealers were allowed to file the petition by Milimani Principal Magistrate Sammy Aswani.
The traders claim they have been operating in the open air market for over 40 years and the county government ought to have given them at least a six-month notice before randomly evicting them.
“There was was no notice given to the traders, neither was an eviction announced nor published in at least two daily newspapers of nationwide circulation and neither was it displayed in not less than five strategic locations within the occupied land,” the traders stated.
According to John Gathitu, a Gikomba Trader for more than 24 years, his children are at the verge of suffering unless the eviction is stopped.
The traders told the court that there have been several fruitless attempts made by them to plead with the county government to allow them back into the suit premises to collect their belongings and stock for sale with no success.
The East African open air market traders are also seeking for the court to issue orders restraining the state from evicting or carrying out any construction work in the market pending inter partes hearing and determination of the application.
They also want the court to issue an order directing the County government to provide them with an alternative premises as well as issue a declaration stating that their eviction is a violation of their economic and human rights.
The traders are further lleading with the court to issue orders seeking general damages and compensation until their case is heard and determined.
