A standoff between matatu (taxi mini-buses) operators and hawkers that threatened to paralyse activities in Nairobi’s central business district (CBD) that started on Thursday morning, has been resolved but questions remain about when the chaos often unleashed by the two subsectors in Kenyan capital’s economy will be addressed and rid the city of the criminal enterprises that drive it.

Hawkers and public transport operators have long been pinpointed by multiple security agencies – mainly police – as key drivers of criminal enterprises behind the safety and security concerns in the city regarded as East and Central Africa’s hub for aviation, business, diplomacy and humanitarianism, and technology.

The latest episode was resolved on Friday morning following a crucial meeting by Nairobi County’s top leadership, the police, hawkers and public service vehicle (PSV) owners.

Nairobi’s approximately seven million (day) population depends on matatus for transport and the high human traffic provides an incentive for hawkers to earn a living by selling food, drinks, secondhanded clothes, shoes, watches, electronics and nuts, among others.

Dr Machel Waikenda, Nairobi City County Chief Officer of Economic Planning (Mobility), chaired the meeting to address the strained relations between the two groups. After the meeting, Waikenda said the outcome of the meeting was “a significant agreement for peaceful co-existence between the two parties.”

“We have agreed with representatives from both sides to co-exist. Relocating hawkers to the backstreets does not mean matatus should vacate too. Both parties must collaborate to ensure law and order prevail for the betterment of the city,” he said.

In his address to the media, Francis Gachanja, the chairman of Nairobi Hawker Association, said the two sides had agreed to collaborate and cooperate in maintaining cleanliness in designated corridors.

“We have committed, together with the county representatives and matatu operators, to ensure order and cleanliness in our assigned areas,” Gachanja told reporters.

The resolution comes after Nairobi County Secretary Godfrey Akumali clarified that the directive issued on January 6, 2025, was not aimed at displacing hawkers. Instead, he said, it was designed to create an organised environment that would benefit everyone – including pedestrians and other business owners.

Further, he stressed the importance of both groups working in harmony, despite the ongoing ban on hawking on pedestrian walkways.

“Hawkers should not occupy spaces meant for matatus, just as matatus should not block pedestrian paths. The sectors are interdependent and it is in their mutual interest to obey the county’s regulations,” Akumali explained.

The county secretary said the regional government places a premium on cleanliness by hawkers and matatu operators to ensure hygiene in their designated spaces.

Since the beginning of the year, the county government has been attempting a remake of some roads and streets in the central business district that have been invaded and taken over by hawkers and PSVs to the disadvantage of other road users and businesses. In addition, they leave in their trail mountains of garbage the county government says it cannot keep pace with, hence it is washed away when it rains into sewerage system and clogs it.

Nairobi City County government led by Governor Johnson Sakaja has embarked on a clean-up exercise that has drawn in 3,500 ‘Green Army’ personnel every Sunday to restore a semblance  of the gleam that once gave the Kenya capital the acclamation ‘Africa’s Green City in the Sun’ owing to its cleanliness, orderliness, security and public safety.

On other days, the city’s cleanliness is maintained through three coordinated shifts – morning, afternoon, and evening.

Over the years, Nairobi shedded its glow and become synonymous with crime, corruption and lawlessness, which took over as the national government and city authorities became fixated with politics at the expense of basic services and surrendered the key functions to the dogs.

• A Tell / KNA report / By Michael Omondi