The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has declared plans to evict hawkers and street families from footbridges and underpasses.

In a statement issued on Saturday, September 20, the agency said the nationwide exercise aims to clear the structures, accusing the groups of encroaching on them to the point of rendering them inaccessible.

“Footbridges are designed to provide a safe, efficient, and often pleasant passage for pedestrians. Unfortunately, most footbridges along the highways are now unfeasible to use due to encroachment by hawkers and street families,” KeNHA stated.

“In a bid to deter any further loss of life, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has launched an operation to clear all footbridges and underpasses of any hawkers and street families, as well as clean them.”

KeNHA stated that the encroachment has forced many pedestrians to cross roads at non-designated points, a trend blamed for frequent accidents and heightened safety risks.

The Authority noted that the ongoing operation is being carried out jointly with the National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO), County Governments, National Police Service, Axle Load Enforcement Unit (ALEHU), and the KeNHA Corridor C team.

The exercise was first rolled out along the Ruiru–Thika stretch of the Thika Superhighway. For years, Kenyans have voiced concerns about hawkers occupying footbridges and underpasses, saying their presence disrupts movement and endangers pedestrians.

A 2019 study published in the Journal of Transport & Health revealed that pedestrian accidents rise by 40 per cent when hawkers and street families obstruct these structures.

Although Kenya’s exact number of footbridges is unclear, estimates place the figure between 200 and 300 as of September 2025. The number is set to grow, with at least 17 more footbridges planned for Nairobi.

On March 28, 2024, KeNHA revealed that Kenyans risk hefty fines for failing to cross footbridges erected within the country, disclosing that Kenyans still insist on crossing roads without using footbridges to save time, adding that doing so risks a fine of up to Ksh5,000. Notably, the minimum fine a pedestrian must pay for such an offence is Ksh500.

This came two days after over 30 people were arrested in various parts of Nairobi during a crackdown mounted by the police and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), which caught pedestrians by surprise.

NTSA notably vowed to intensify its operations in the days after the crackdown, owing to the rising cases of road accidents involving pedestrians and motorists.