Eastleigh hawkers to be moved to stalled hospital wards

The Nairobi County government has started the process of relocating over 20,000 hawkers from Eastleigh Market to occupy the stalled Pumwani hospital maternity Nyayo Wards.

The Wards, with a 300-bed capacity, were to be refurbished at Sh544 million by the Ministry of Health in January.

Speaking to the Nation, Nairobi county executive planning Christopher Khaemba said that the county government had started clearing the bushes and will built public toilets for the hawkers.

“The Nyayo Wards will be able to serve as an alternative for the hawkers as the space is enough for all of them to do business after we refurbish them,” said Mr Khaemba.

However, on Thursday last week, the hawkers staged a demonstration to City hall rejecting the alternative and demanding to do their business at Eastleigh after 4pm.

Mr Khaemba said that they are not interested in any other alternative offered to them and only want to work in front of malls and shops in Eastleigh.

He said that the hawker issue has had a lot of political interference as the county has been accused of targeting certain communities.

He added that despite the hawkers refusing to leave Eastleigh, the inspectorate will keep them away.

However the county health executive Bernard Muia said that the department of health had not been involved in the decision.

“This thing was done behind my back. As a department we were never involved that hawkers will take over the wards,” said Dr Muia.

Muia said that he has intervened to ensure that the project goes on as planned in partnership with the ministry of health.

He added that the technical team was on the ground trying to work out on the modalities and a report will be made to the county.

Once the wards are completed they are meant to ease congestion at the maternity hospital besides housing a trauma centre.

During a tour of the facility in January by health cabinet secretary Cleopa Mailu, it was noted that the project was almost complete when it was abandoned in 1987.

The walls are now dilapidated, windows broken and grass in the compound overgrown.

The compound which was about six acres has been grabbed and what has remained today is less than two acres.

Speaking on phone the Eastleigh Businesses District Association chairperson Ibrahim Hussein urged the hawkers to accept the alternative space.

Mr Ibrahim complained that hawkers display their wares outside their shops, blocking the entrance and exit to their shops.