Nairobi: Street vendors from the Chinatown area in Windhoek embarked on a protest action on Thursday following their eviction by the City of Windhoek (CoW), saying the decision to prevent them from trading negatively impacts their livelihoods. The Windhoek City Police last week evicted hundreds of hawkers who sell their wares at Chinatown.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the vendors have criticised the decision and say the Windhoek Municipality has not provided an alternative for them. Gebhard Lumbu, a vendor in his 50s, was one of the longest-serving hawkers along Newcastle Street, where he has spent years selling cold drinks. He said that he and fellow vendors were shocked when members of the Windhoek City Police arrived on 15 July 2026 to evict them.

'The eviction has affected us badly. We pay rent and also pay a monthly fee for cold storage inside the Chinatown complex. We don't know what we are going to do now,' Lumbu said. He said street vendors understand that they are not legally permitted to trade along the street. However, he said previous political leaders at the Windhoek City Council had shown compassion by allowing them to continue operating, provided they kept the area clean.

'I remember when Queen Kamati was mayor, and later Mayor Ndeshihafela Larandja came to speak to us. They told us to continue selling as long as we kept the street clean,' he said. Leonard Hanghome, a longtime customer of the street vendors, expressed sorrow over the action taken against the vendors and said the eviction is unfair as the evicted people rely on their businesses to survive.

'This is how they feed their families. They made it like a culture to them and that's how they survive. We know in our country it's not easy and in this way people are trying to meet the government halfway,' Hanghome said. He called on CoW to come up with measures to help them. The group is set to meet Windhoek Mayor Sakarias Uunona on Thursday to seek answers.