Hawkers in Kenya hustle every day to survive, and for the first time, the government might actually have their backs legally.
A major public forum just took place in Nakuru, and residents showed up with something to say. The Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives held public participation on the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood) Bill, 2023 — and the message from ordinary Kenyans was clear: this law is long overdue.
Right now, hawkers and street vendors operate in a legal grey zone. No formal recognition. No protection from county askaris raiding their stalls. No say in where they can or cannot trade. The Bill wants to change all of that by creating a proper legal framework that formally recognises street vending as legitimate work — not a nuisance to be chased away.
Think about what that means on the ground. The mama mboga setting up before sunrise. The guy selling phone accessories along River Road. The young graduate hawking clothes in town because the job market failed them. These are real people feeding families, paying rent, and keeping Kenya’s informal economy moving. The informal sector employs over 80% of Kenya’s workforce — yet there is almost no law protecting the people in it at the bottom rung.
If passed, the Bill would give vendors legal standing when county governments try to relocate or remove them. It would mean proper designated vending zones, protection from arbitrary harassment, and recognition of street trading as a real economic activity deserving of dignity and policy support.
Nakuru residents at the forum backed it strongly, calling it a timely intervention that acknowledges a reality millions of Kenyans already live every single day. Public participation like this matters because it shapes whether the final law actually works for the people it is meant to protect.
Kenyans online are already reacting. Many are asking why it took this long, with one commenter saying, “These vendors pay their taxes through licences and yet they get chased like criminals.” Others are cautiously optimistic, wondering whether implementation will follow or whether this will be another good-looking law that dies on paper.
The Bill now needs to move through Parliament — and the pressure from public forums like Nakuru’s could be exactly what pushes it forward.
If you know someone who hustles on the streets to survive, send them this — because a law that protects them might finally be coming.
