Panic as goons wreak havoc in Githurai Market
By Mathew Ndungu, January 29, 2026Traders operating at Githurai Market in Kiambu County have appealed to security agencies to move in swiftly and arrest suspected goons who have been harassing them and disrupting their businesses.
The traders raised the alarm after several of them were attacked and injured on Monday evening, January 26, 2026, by people they described as members of a local gang attempting to force them out of their business premises.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting at the Githurai Mwiki Deputy County Commissioner’s offices, the traders’ representatives, led by New Jubilee Market Chairman Stephen Kimani, said the attackers are well known to both residents and security officers, yet no arrests have been made.
“These people are known in this area, and even the security agencies know them, but no action has been taken. We are being harassed and beaten in broad daylight,” Kimani said.
He explained that the dispute affecting more than 12,000 small-scale traders has persisted for nearly a decade, stemming from unresolved stall allocation issues at the new modern market, which was completed but has never been fully occupied.
“This problem started almost 10 years ago when the modern market was completed. Up to today, traders cannot occupy it because of allocation disputes, and now goons are being used to chase us away,” he added.
Some of the traders who were attacked narrated their ordeal, saying the gang blocked their business premises with heaps of sand and ballast before assaulting them.
“They came in the evening and started beating us. They blocked our stalls with sand and ballast so we could not operate,” said trader Stephen Njue.
Another trader, Scolastica Njeri, said the violence has left many traders living in fear.
“We are afraid to open our businesses because we don’t know when they will come back. We just want peace so we can earn a living,” she said.
The traders appealed to Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and the national government to intervene and find a lasting solution to the long-running dispute.
“We are asking the Governor and the national government to come in and help us resolve this matter once and for all. We want security and fairness in stall allocation,” Kimani said.
They warned that continued insecurity at the market threatens the livelihoods of thousands of families who depend on the businesses for survival.