Karungo wa Thang’wa slams overnight Githurai evictions, calls for humane relocation
By Kenneth Mwenda, February 19, 2026Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang’wa condemned the recent demolitions of small traders’ structures in strong terms.
Taking to X, on February 19, 2026, the senator described how traders in Ruiru, Githurai, and other areas wake up to ashes where their businesses once stood. Shops burn, stalls flatten, and livelihoods vanish, all in the name of development. He acknowledged the need for roads, markets, and order, but insisted that development that destroys the poor amounts to oppression.
Thang’wa pointed to a pattern under President William Ruto’s government.
“Handouts in broad daylight for cameras, and bulldozers and fire in the dark,” he said. “You cannot uplift hustlers while crushing their only source of income.”
He asked direct questions:
“What kind of government builds roads by burning dreams? What kind of leadership evicts without dignity, without compensation, without proper relocation? What kind of system punishes the same small traders it claims to empower?”
Thang’wa demanded answers from the national government and Kiambu county government.
“Who ordered these evictions? Why was force and destruction the first option? Where is the humane resettlement plan? Where is compensation for those who lost everything?”
He warned that citizens cannot be impoverished today and told it will benefit them tomorrow.
“Ruiru and Githurai are not battlegrounds, traders are not collateral damage, and Kenyans are not fools,” he said.
He concluded that these acts deepen the belief that this is not leadership but failure dressed up as development.
“Every burnt stall, displaced trader, and ruined dream strengthens the view that the regime has lost moral authority to lead,” he said. “Kenyans have decided this is a one-term government, and Wantam is not a slogan. It is the consequence of broken trust. Development must build people, not burn them.”
Overnight demolitions
The senator was reacting to events in Githurai on February 18 and 19, 2026. The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) carried out demolitions overnight, starting around midnight on February 18.
Bulldozers razed roadside stalls and semi-permanent buildings on road reserves along the Thika Superhighway, under heavy police guard.
The demolitions followed daytime protests on February 18. Traders set tyres ablaze on the Githurai overpass, blocked traffic towards Nairobi, and clashed with police. Officers fired warning shots and used tear gas. No deaths occurred, but crowds threw stones and damaged vehicles. Commuters faced hours of gridlock amid smoke.
KeNHA justified the action as part of infrastructure upgrades. The authority plans to build bus bays and expand service lanes to ease congestion and improve safety. Lawrence Opondo, KeNHA’s Senior Inspector of Roads, said at a forum on February 12:
“The move aims to pave the way for the construction of new bus bays and the expansion of service lanes along the busy route.”
KeNHA issued notices earlier in February, including a seven-day ultimatum for traders in Githurai and Roysambu to clear road reserves. The authority ran sensitisation campaigns and stated: “Encroachments compromise safety, block upgrades, and put drivers at risk.”
Many traders ignored the orders. They said notices lacked proper consultation or relocation plans.
Similar clearances hit other areas. KeNHA demolished structures along the Machakos-Katumani-Wote highway on February 12, for pedestrian walkways. Traders lost thousands. In Ruai earlier in February, over 2,000 traders faced overnight demolitions.