“Sleep with us or lose your merchandise”: Female hawkers reveal shocking abuse by city inspectorate officers
Female street vendors in Nairobi’s Central Business District have come forward with disturbing allegations of systematic sexual harassment and extortion by members of the city inspectorate, commonly known as “kanjos.”
In explosive testimony before the Nairobi County Assembly, several women described a predatory system where officers routinely demand sexual favors in exchange for allowing them to operate their businesses without interference.
“I have experienced it personally,” said Jane (name changed to protect her identity), who bravely testified before Members of County Assembly. “My colleagues have also been told to sleep with these officers to be allowed to hawk without interference.”
According to Jane, the officers don’t make conventional advances. “They don’t court us or make overt advances. They simply expect us to obey,” she revealed, identifying one of the alleged perpetrators by his street name “Brown.”
Jane described how her refusal to comply with sexual demands and bribery requests led to violent retribution.
After threatening to expose the officers involved, she was subjected to escalating harassment.
“They returned, took my merchandise, assaulted me, and dragged me on the ground,” she recounted. “Their leader called me a prostitute and declared I would not be allowed to sell there again.”
The assault left Jane with severe injuries requiring hospitalization and the use of a spinal belt. Despite doctors advising her to limit movement, she continues her fight for justice while struggling financially.
“I’m bedridden. I can’t take my children to school. I have bills to pay and I’m surviving on loans from friends,” she explained. “I just want justice and to get my items back so I can earn a living.”
“Pay or sleep with them”: A widespread pattern of abuse
Another hawker, identified only as Damaris, confirmed that such harassment is commonplace in Nairobi’s streets, telling reporters: “This is nothing new. You either pay a weekly bribe or sleep with one of them.”
She declined to provide further details or her full name, citing concerns for her personal safety in a system where retaliation appears to be common.
Johnson Sakaja.
The allegations come despite Governor Johnson Sakaja’s reshuffling of the Inspectorate Department five months ago following mounting complaints of harassment.
Former Chief Officer for Security and Compliance, Tony Kimani, was transferred to the Customer Care docket, while Eva Wangechi Wairiuko was appointed Acting Chief Officer of the Inspectorate.
However, both Wairiuko and the Director of City Inspectorate, Benjamin Omondi, failed to appear before the County Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) despite being summoned to respond to the accusations.
Mugumo-ini MCA and committee chair Jared Akama confirmed an ongoing investigation following Jane’s formal complaint.
Meanwhile, Nairobi CBD MCA Mwaniki Kwenya has submitted a petition citing similar abuses by inspectorate officers.
Kwenya has called for the immediate suspension of the department’s leadership, accusing them of violating the rights of hawkers who pay taxes to the county government.
He also reported being personally harassed while attempting to prevent officers from assaulting traders.
“We will take action,” assured Akama. “The heads of the Inspectorate Department will be summoned to appear next week to respond to these serious allegations.”
As the investigation unfolds, many hawkers continue to work in fear, caught between the need to earn a living and the predatory practices of those tasked with maintaining order in Kenya’s capital city.
A storm is brewing in Nairobi’s corridors of power as County Assembly Speaker Kennedy Ng’ondi has boldly taken a stand against the unchecked rise of illegal high-rise buildings.
In a strongly worded address, Ng’ondi accused Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration of overseeing rampant violations in the construction sector.
But he didn’t stop there—he also placed blame on city MCAs for their silence and inaction.
As illegal high-rises continue to mushroom across Nairobi, the Speaker’s call for accountability marks a pivotal moment in the city’s fight against urban lawlessness and poor planning enforcement.
These illegal structures often rise without any community consultation or assembly oversight, creating a toxic mix of corruption, incompetence, and risk to human life. [Photo/Courtesy]
Nairobi County’s Crisis: A City Plagued by Illegal High-rise Buildings
Nairobi is facing a planning disaster of epic proportions. At the heart of the storm are illegal high-rise buildings—unauthorized structures that are altering the city’s skyline while jeopardizing residents’ safety and undermining urban order.
Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Kennedy Ng’ondi is sounding the alarm, calling out both the executive arm of the county government and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) for allowing this crisis to flourish.
In his address to the Assembly last week, Speaker Ng’ondi directly blamed Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration for the illegal approvals of high-rise buildings.
According to Ng’ondi, the county’s physical planning department has become a breeding ground for impunity, operating without proper oversight or public engagement.
This, he said, has led to the proliferation of substandard buildings that flout the Physical Planning Act (Cap 286).
“Critical area of concern is physical planning and construction,” Ng’ondi stated. “We have left executive officials in the planning department to run affairs with little accountability.”
He pointed out that many of these buildings are approved without public participation—an outright violation of Section 19 of the Act.
More disturbingly, some MCAs appear unaware of developments happening right in their own wards, raising concerns over possible collusion or gross negligence.
These illegal structures often rise without any community consultation or assembly oversight, creating a toxic mix of corruption, incompetence, and risk to human life.
The Speaker highlighted that many committees within the County Assembly have abandoned their watchdog roles.
“Where they conduct inspection visits, their reports are not forthcoming or lack the detail needed to hold executive officials accountable,” Ng’ondi noted, adding that this lapse has contributed to the collapse of the Ward Development Fund and the disappearance of critical Bills from the House agenda.
Sakaja’s Aides Accused as Oversight Committees Go Silent
The spotlight has also turned on a failed effort to hold Governor Sakaja’s inner circle accountable. A sub-committee formed last year to investigate claims that Sakaja’s aides were meddling in the building approval process was abruptly disbanded.
A whistleblower from within the executive had alleged that certain aides were “calling the shots” in deciding which high-rise projects got greenlighted—a revelation that rocked City Hall but yielded no formal consequences.
Meanwhile, an earlier ad-hoc committee tasked with probing Nairobi’s drastic revenue collection dip remains in limbo, its findings yet to see the light of day almost two years later. This raises a serious concern: who is watching the watchers?
Ng’ondi’s warnings come as illegal high-rise buildings continue to reshape Nairobi’s skyline. Beyond the aesthetics, these structures present a ticking time bomb, particularly in overpopulated neighborhoods where emergency access is limited and infrastructure is already strained.
By challenging sectoral committees to reclaim their oversight power, Speaker Ng’ondi has ignited a critical conversation.
Whether Nairobi’s MCAs will finally rise to the occasion—or allow the city to sink further into disrepair—remains to be seen.
Illegal high-rise buildings are not just a planning issue; they are a governance crisis. And unless the county’s lawmakers step up, the cost could be paid in lives.
The circus that has been revolving around the Jeevanjee Affordable Housing project in Nairobi took a new twist with the National Bank, which has financed the project, now warning that it will auction the houses if the Sh1.9 billion loan is not settled.
While appearing before Nairobi County Assembly committee, Managing Director George Odhiambo warned that in the event the contractor fails to pay the debt in full, the bank will have no choice but to auction the houses.
“In the worst-case scenario, we will have just to rely on the legal advice and we will be forced to auction these houses to recover our money as per the agreement,” the bank MD said.
The warning comes amid reports that the project attracted over 1,500 potential buyers eagerly waiting for their units to be completed and handed over.
It also emerged that proper valuation was not done before the loan was advanced since the value of the 3.2-acre land is much higher than the Sh1.9 billion.
Tricky addendum
The committee was also astonished to learn that the developer attached an addendum to the principal joint agreement. Ireri further said that Jabavu Village Ltd, the contractor, had not only breached the original agreement but had used the unofficial addendum to apply for the loan.
Jabavu Village CEO Abdulkadir Ahmed Hussein shocked the committee when he said that he cannot explain how the title for the land landed in his hands.
“I am still trying to remember who gave the title for this land,” he told the committee.
City lawyer Donald Kipkorir (DBK) has come out to reveal that Nairobi County Assembly Committee members and Governor Johnson Sakaja had demanded a huge chunk of bribe to approve his pending debts.
DBK says he was approached to cut a deal to have his payments first tracked. Nairobi County owes the lawyer over Sh1.69 billion in legal fees pending since 2022.
He recently won a case and had instructed auctioneers last month to seize assets belonging to the Nairobi County government to cover his debts.
However, there has been a strategic delay in settling the debt and now it appears it was aimed at boxing him into cutting a deal.
DBK claims that last month, Nairobi County Assembly Budget Committee together with Governor Sakaja Johnson were in Naivasha preparing the County’s Supplementary Budget and that it was here that they coined a deal to extort him.
He goes further to say they had demanded for a Sh845 million bribe from the Sh1.69 B that the county owes him.
“They called me that they want to approve all my payments if I give them 50% of the sums I am owed.” He says.
He turned out the deal, he says, “I told them, my fees are in accordance with The Advocates (Remuneration) Order & decreed by Court & I won’t pay a bribe. Nairobi City under the Governor pay Bills, Invoices & Court Decrees to those that pay a bribe of 50%.”
His latest revelation doesn’t come as a surprise, earlier this month, he had hinted on the schemes before finally laying it all bare, “I have been advised that City Hall top officials have vowed they will frustrate my judgments against them through all subterfuge methods. That doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that Public Officials have weaponized their offices.” DBK had posted on X earlier.
DBK instructed Garam Investment Auctioneers on March 27, 2024 to seize valuables, office equipment, computers, furniture and cars to satisfy the debt. This followed the High Court Judge Nixon Sifuna decision that quashed section 13A and 21 of the Government Proceedings Act, opening the door for litigants to attach government properties or bank accounts to recover their debts.
While quashing the laws, Justice Sifuna termed the sections colonial relics that have no place in modern society and were only meant to frustrate rather than facilitate the processing and expeditious disposal of cases.
However, DBK alleged a plot by City Hall to overturn the decision, “The ruling by Sifuna allowing attachment of County Government property has unnerved City Hall & upended their nefarious schemes. Because, you can now attach, there is no excuse for City Hall to blackmail for payments to be done. Now City Hall wants to fund the ruling of Justice Sifuna to be overturned in the Court of Appeal. Nairobi City County is truly rotten at all levels. It is irredeemable.” He said on April 4, 2024.
Blackmail and extortion
DBK says he has been in business with the Nairobi Government since 1998 and it was until 2012 when blackmail and extortion took precedence.
“Since devolution in 2013, payment of legal fees & bills for provision of other services like construction et al became subject to surrender of your payments to City Hall apparatchiks. I refused to pay & City Hall stopped giving me work or paying my outstanding legal fees. In the current County Government, to be paid legal fees, you must pay City Hall officials to the highest level 50% of your legitimate fees. Contractors pay upto 40%. Again, I declined to pay them.” He said.
Law firms like Kwanga Mboya and Company Advocates have found themselves being at the center of accusations of playing to the dirty tricks of City Hall. In a complaint against them on Nyakundi blog, the firm is claimed to be getting payments instantly while others are kept in waiting.
Most corrupt leadership
The lawyer has described the Nairobi County’s leadership as the most corrupt and called on President William Ruto to dissolve the county assembly and expel Sakaja from UDA party.
“Nairobi City under Sakaja Johnson will go down as the MOST CORRUPT LEADERSHIP in Kenya’s History with a County Assembly that is completely beholden to him. It is time President William Ruto dissolves both the County Assembly & expels Sakaja from UDA and EACC should arrest Nairobi County leadership of both the Executive & the County Assembly.” Said the lawyer.
Governor Johnson Sakaja during a meeting with City MCAs where he declared his candidature for the Nairobi UDA chairmanship on April 19, 2024. Image: JOHNSON SAKAJA
History of Sh1.69 billion debt owed to Kipkorir
DBK was awarded one of the highest legal fees in the country’s litigation history for defending the county government against the Ministry of Defence over a parcel of land where Embakasi Barracks sits. The Environment and Land court in 2022 ruled that Mr Kipkorir should be paid Sh1.338 billion for representing the defunct city council in a case that was in court for close to 10 years over the 3,000-acre land valued at Sh61.5 billion. The amount has since increased to Sh1.69 on account of interest.
DBK acted for the defunct city council when its land was forcibly taken by the Kenya Defence Forces, triggering the court case in 2012 but the matter was later withdrawn to allow for the case to be settled through inter-governmental relations.
Most incompetent
Elsewhere, a section of Nairobi County leaders have slammed Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja accusing his administration of being the “most incompetent and morally degenerate” county government.
In a strongly-worded statement, the leaders led by Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie accused Sakaja’s administration of contributing to Nairobi County’s deteriorating state.
They pointed out issues such as widespread sewerage problems, garbage mountains in residential areas, water shortages amidst flooding, and poorly planned high-rise constructions.
“It is our observation that Nairobi could be facing its worst leadership crisis at City Hall in the capital’s history. The dream that was sold during the campaigns of a city of order, dignity, hope and opportunity has turned into a nightmare. Nairobi is becoming clamped in an ever-tightening chokehold of an arrogant and dangerously corrupt leadership,” said Kiarie.
Citing a recent Auditor General report, Kiarie further accused Sakaja’s administration of gross financial mismanagement, including payments to ghost workers and selective payment of bills for kickbacks.
“In a shocking revelation last year, a junior officer wielding authority directly granted by the Governor, clandestinely approved over 600 building plans against the Physical Land Planning Act which stipulates that the County Chief Officer is responsible for approving building plans,” he said.
“That would explain the ‘kiudutho’ development and the unplanned highrise buildings that are mushrooming and cropping up in every corner of Nairobi. Such cases of abuse of power only give a preview of the rot house that is the Nairobi City County.”
Kiarie further condemned the acquisition of luxury assets by top Nairobi County officials, describing it as a disregard for public welfare.
“Never before has Nairobi ever been pilfered so brazenly and with so much display of juvenile bravado, intimidation, exclusion and undermining of those who they are not able to pay with their looted billions,” he said.
“Pitting leaders against each other and sponsoring squabbles has become the expensive hobby of the Governor and his court of loyalists.”
