Court stops construction of disputed market

The High Court sitting in Thika has halted the construction of the Ngoliba market.

The dispute has sparked tension at the shopping centre after police and goons were deployed to intimidate locals and traders while guarding a contractor working against a court order.

Justice Anne Mogeni of the Environment and Land Court issued conservatory orders against the Ministry of Public Works until the hearing of the matter, which the county government has filed.

“I direct that there shall be no dealings with the suit property until the inter partes hearing of the suit,” the judge ruled.

The matter, which last weekend saw county government officials injured by goons procured at a daily cost of Sh800 from Kabete, and county cars damaged, has seen Thika MP Alice Ng’an’ga heavily criticised for orchestrating the trouble.

The court asked police to ensure the order was complied with by having officers manning the site in favour of the MP and Enchanting Mombasa Ltd, the contractor working on the site.

The structures were demolished without prior notice on the eve of the market launch, and traders’ goods were looted. 

Lawyer Stephen Ligunya of Rachier and Amollo Advocates representing the county argued that traders were harassed and forcefully evicted from the market without being provided a temporary site for them to continue their businesses.

On September 20, 2024, the county government through the Department of Trade, placed a tender advertisement on its official website, seeking a contractor to build a Sh50 million “complex” market at Ngoliba shopping centre, which is along the Thika-Garrisa Highway.

According to the bill of quantities, the scope of the works for the tender numbered CGK/TITI/MARKETS/008/2024/ 2025 included a one-floor market comprising stalls to accommodate dozens of traders, an ICT hub, a baby nursery, a cold room, stores, an administrative office, and an abolition block.

One and a half months later, the State Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is under Principal Secretary Charles Hinga, also placed a tender advertisement dated November 13, 2024, for the same market (MLPWHUD/SUD/093/2024/2025- CLUSTER 90).

The county conducted a public participation exercise in January to explain the market’s designs and even identified a contractor. County Executive Committee Member for Trade Susan Gatwiri spearheaded the exercise, which was attended by area Ward Rep Joachim Njama.

On Tuesday afternoon, the police, who had refused to obey the court order, agreed to leave the site after officer Ngoliba OCS confirmed the authenticity of the order. Subsequently, workers at the site were ordered to vacate.

The county has sued the contractor Enchanting Construction Company, along with the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary in the State Department of Housing and Urban Planning. 

This is not the first time Thika MP has found herself in the sport over chaos relating to controlling markets, which are a devolved function.

In May last year, Ms N’gan’ga, along with three other MPs, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa, Gatundu North’s Njoroge Kururia, and Gabriel Kagombe of Gatundu South, flew in two helicopters to the Kigajgo market in Kamenu Ward in Thika to launch market where one man died after chaos erupted.

David Nduati, a boda boda rider, was shot dead, allegedly by Gatundu South MP G.G Kagombe who was later charged with murder at Machakos High Court after a video emerged of his firing ammunition towards the crowd.

Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has linked ongoing controversies over the construction of markets in the county, pitting a section of Members of Parliament and the county government to a plot by a section of the lawmakers to grab public land. 

According to the governor, some MPs want to construct markets despite being a devolved function because they have identified idle public land they intend to grab.