Hawkers stain Ngara’s antique beauty

By Ferdinand Mwongela

Smack between the Central Business District (CBD) and Ngara is the Globe Cinema roundabout which is a perfect example of a modern day tower of Babel as the din of matatu touts combines with hooting vehicles and crazy traffic jams to create a concert of chaos.

Hawkers have become a menace to residents of Ngara.

Ngara has built its own reputation over time. More often than not, it is the scene of confrontations between police and hawkers. It is hard not to see why.

Ngara has a small but vibrant second-hand clothes market that attracts many shoppers on any given day. Therefore, hawkers looking to make a quick buck all gather here.

In fact, residents of Tiwi, Kienjeku, Shilingi and Kolobot roads have watched their quiet, tree-lined neighbourhood transform into a thriving hawkers’ market.

It is estimated that close to 2,000 hawkers operate from these streets daily, causing massive traffic jams and blocking access to homes. It is always a battle whenever residents have to access their homes given the fight. Despite its proximity to the CBD — It takes about five minutes of brisk walking to cross the Globe roundabout during the day— the area is one of the least attractive for residents, thanks to the hawking menace.

Limited development

Despite claims of the prices of land around Ngara and Pangani areas going up significantly, developments are few and far between, with the most significant being the Ministry of Housing’s Civil Servants Tenant Purchase Scheme phases one and two on Desai Road.

The area opposite this project is quiet with old residential houses, once owned by Kenya Railways. Their rusty iron sheets straddle the land, peeping shyly behind kei apple fences.

Rental prices are high with a single room small enough to fit only a bed and a table going for Sh3,500 to Sh4,000.

A quarter acre piece of land in this area sells for between Sh40-60 million.