Street vendors occupying historic site surroundings removed

The Ministry ofInterior has removed unlicensed markets and street vendors, surrounding The Tomb of Saad Zaghloul. The vendors had occupied the streets and blocked the roads,crippling the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.


Street vendors occupying streets surrounding The Tomb of Saad Zaghlool in Cairo's downtown after they were removed by police on January 16, 2018 - Mahmoud Abdel Rady

The police filed against the vendors 55 reports of operating unlicensed shops, roads occupation, and environmental pollution.

Saad Zaghloul is the leader of the 1919 Revolution against the British colonization in Egypt which started in 1882 and ended in 1956. He founded El-Wafd Party one year before becoming prime minister, from January 1924 to November 1924,duringKing Fouad I reign. Prior to the revolution, he was the minister of education for four years, and the minister of justice for two years. Zaghloul was exiled twice by the colonization to Malta and Seychelles.

The tomb of the patriotic figure is located in Cairo's downtown, where the number of street vendors, occupying its main streets, increased remarkably amid the January 25 uprising. However, they were later removed in August 2015 and relocated to a nearby complex in Torgoman neighborhood.

Traffic congestion is one of the major problems facing streets in Egypt. In order to end the chronic crisis, Cairo Governorate preceded Giza by confronting vendors who set up shops on sidewalks and streets, often near metro stations.

In April 2015, dozens of street vendors in Ramses Square were moved to a neighboring parking lot at the Ahmed Helmybus station.

In October 2015, a total of 3,000 vendors were removed from the center of Helwan and were relocated near metro stations in Toshka and Ein Helwan neighborhoods.
Many attributed the high numberof street vendors inthe streets of Egypt to the absence of police forces in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising.