The government says it will take six months to construct a new modern Gikomba Market, as part of an ambitious plan to transform the country’s largest open-air trading hub into a cleaner, organized and dignified space for traders.

In an interview with a local TV station on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Housing Charles Hinga said the redevelopment will be carried out in phases to avoid disrupting livelihoods, noting that traders have already been allocated alternative spaces.

“There are no jobs that are being lost because we have provided them with an alternative space to trade. We have to do it in phases; you cannot displace over 200,000 traders in one day. It will take 6 months to construct the new market,” he said.

Hinga described the planned market as a major transformation that will redefine the image and functionality of Gikomba, which has long struggled with congestion and poor infrastructure.

“It’s a tectonic shift. If you look at the master plan and what we are building, it is aspirational. Gikomba will not be the filthy place that people look down on,” he said.

He added that the project will incorporate modern public amenities, including improved riverfront spaces.

“We are creating a space where you can take your kids over the weekend because the riverfront is functioning very well. What we are doing is huge, turning the sewer into rivers. We are going to have aspirational public spaces,” Hinga said.

The PS emphasized that the government’s approach is centered on restoring dignity to traders, regardless of background.

“There is no tribe in a trader, all we know for us is that a trader is a trader and a trader as far as this government is concerned, deserves dignity… irrespective of what tribe you belong to,” he said.

Hinga also took issue with political opposition to the project, criticizing what he termed inconsistency among leaders.

“For too long, we have been held hostage to politicians who stand for nothing. It cannot be that today you stand for something because either you are in government, and as soon as you leave, you don’t stand for that,” he said.

To build trust among traders, he pledged transparency in the allocation of spaces in the new market.

“I want to make an undertaking that anyone for the traders that have been enumerated will be settled in the new market. We will publish this list of 6,392. We shall publish it at the DCC’s place, at the market, and if need be, we shall publish it in the newspapers,” he said.

Hinga acknowledged that Gikomba’s current challenges stem from years of uncontrolled growth and overcrowding.

“The issue of Gikomba being a non-functional market, there is no space for any vehicles, even though there are roads… it is the only place that does not reject anyone. Because of that pressure that has grown over time, Gikomba has become dysfunctional,” he said.

He revealed that the redevelopment plan was informed by direct appeals from traders, who sought government intervention earlier this year.

“The traders sought an appointment with the President in January… and said to the President, Gikomba is not functional, come and help us,” he said.

According to Hinga, the government, through President William Ruto, has committed KSh 5 billion towards the project.

“We sat down with the President, and that is when he committed that there is going to be 5 billion shillings that will be appropriated through our state department to go and build a market that is modern, that provides dignity to traders, that will allow mothers to come with their children,” he said.

The redevelopment is expected to significantly ease congestion, improve sanitation and create a more structured trading environment at the iconic market.