Traders, families, along Stima line begin evacuating from volatile area

Panic secretly blooms in the air among tenants, traders, and homeowners as the eventual demolition of their structures began a few weeks ago.

This comes six months after Energy CS, Opiyo Wandayi, visited Nakuru to “remind” the traders, tenants, and property owners along Stimaline in Kaptembwa Ward that they had overstayed their welcome.

While unrest still lingers in the air, a few of those whose trade or homes were affected have had to readjust their lives. Months into this new norm, some have already been seen rebuilding.

Word is that everyone in the area needed to move back what they term as “miguu tisa” (nine feet) from the towering electric poles and the unseen but often spoken-about pipeline.

A spot check by Mtaa Wangu in the area confirms that demolition of homes and market stalls began a few weeks ago, displacing a number of traders and tenants.

We spotted a heavy machine and a Kenya Pipeline Company pickup truck parked nearby.

At the same time, sizeable piles of stones were neatly laid out, likely to be used in the construction of a drainage system that appears to run from Kipanga Market toward the Gikomba 'silent' market in Weavers.

This is not the first time such demolitions have happened in Nakuru. Around 2020–2021, many investors and business owners were left stranded after Kenya Railways brought down businesses in a similarly unforgiving manner.

This followed several notices dispatched by the institution, demanding that the investors vacate as they sought to reclaim their land.

As all this unfolds, the 'silent market' still draws its usual crowd, along with some new entrants hoping to find the best second-hand fits to wear or to sell to those of us too lazy to dig through the piles ourselves.

Meanwhile, a shell of what was once the Kipanga Market remains, as traders await final word on a realignment plan from the authorities.

Just like the railway grounds, it may only be a matter of time before the 'silent' market is completely wiped out and traders are moved to the built market in Pondamali, a move still under quiet debate among them.

Or perhaps, a solution will arise- one that neither displaces them nor interferes with the pipeline and electric lines in the area.