Traders operating within the Industrial Area Police Station in Nairobi have been ordered to vacate the premises with immediate effect.
Makadara Sub-County Police Commander Judith Nyongesa said the businesses, which she described as “mushrooming kiosks”, were a nuisance not only to officers but also to their families.
“We have mushrooming kiosks, and they are not up to the required standards. We have a right to remove them because that is a police line where our officers live. We are not comfortable with many outsiders frequenting that area,” Nyongesa said.
Nyongesa spoke to reporters at her office within the same station on Saturday.
She said the traders had been issued with an eviction notice requiring them to remove their structures and other belongings from the police station premises.
Traders operating in makeshift structures within the Industrial Area Police Station have been issued a seven-day notice to vacate the premises by June 3.
“We have a letter from the Deputy Inspector General on the same, directing us to look into the mushrooming kiosks within our police line,” Nyongesa said.
“They are small structures. Some are built against walls of houses belonging to police officers. As police officers, we need privacy. Officers report for duty in the morning and need rest without disturbance from outsiders conducting business within the station premises,” Nyongesa said.
A spot check by the Star at the station found that the so-called mushrooming kiosks are situated between officers’ residential houses. Some have been erected against walls of officers’ houses.
Most of the structures are made of iron sheets, while others are wooden. They include general shops, food kiosks, groceries, salons and fruit vendors.
In a notice referenced “Notice to vacate from Industrial Area Police Station”, signed by the area OCS and dated May 26, 2026, traders were directed to vacate the premises within seven days.
“You are required to remove all structures from the station premises with immediate effect as earlier directed. You have been given seven working days and should vacate by June 3, 2026,” the notice seen by the Star reads in part.
Some traders who spoke to the Star said they are spouses of police officers, while others said they have no links to officers.
“We are wondering where we will earn our daily livelihoods if pushed out of this place,” a woman said.
The eviction comes as the station undergoes modernisation, with ongoing construction works. A new perimeter wall has been erected along the fence, with two standard gates: one at the main entrance and another on the officers’ residential side.
