Gikomba traders who are seeking the High Court’s intervention to stop the demolition of their business premises have been given leave by the Court to file their petition afresh.
This is after the High Court declined to allow them to amend the petition they had filed in April of this year to add more evidence.
Justice Sammy Opande dismissed their prayers but allowed the traders to file the petition afresh with sufficient evidence.
The traders had sued the Nairobi County Government for demolishing their structures to build a fire station to enhance its response to fire emergencies that are prevalent in the market.
However, the traders told the court that they lacked legal guidance while making the initial petition before they hired lawyer Danstan Omari to represent them in the case.
Among their new prayers is seeking the High Court to temporarily suspend the demolitions pending a hearing of their suit, where they want the project to be discontinued.
The traders say the county did not carry out any public participation where they would have presented their grievances and they were not given notices to vacate the area before the demolitions started.
Over 200 traders were affected by the demolitions, according to their spokesperson.
