Chinese-owned China Square mall is among more than 40 trading companies entangled in a lawsuit seeking to halt the operations of foregin entities selling low-priced imported goods on the Kenyan market.
The suit before the High Court has been filed by a group of Kenyan traders concerned over the Chinese allegedly selling everyday goods like curtains imported from China on average 50 percent cheaper than those brought in by their local counterparts.
The court action comes a month after China Square, which is based at Kenyatta University on the outskirts of Nairobi, was reopened following the dismissal of a counterfeit complaint against it.
The traders, under the auspices of a group called Indigenous Capital Protection Association, have sued the government protesting the influx of Chinese traders in Kenya.
The Chinese entities are being accused of undercutting local traders with ultra-low prices and driving them out of business.
The traders want the Immigration Services department to stop issuing Chinese nationals with employment and business permits.
Analysts said the move could strain relations with China, Kenya’s biggest bilateral creditor.
Lawyer Kibe Mungai, who is representing the traders, reckons in the lawsuit that over two million jobs in Kenya are in danger in the wake of the influx of Chinese hawkers, including hawking goods in smaller towns.
