Traders in Kitengela Municipality are crying foul after County askaris evicted them from their main trading posts.
Traders who used to operate at the busy Kitengela bus terminus were forced to move to a smaller location and others forced to shut down business.
One trader, Mary Njeri is counting her losses after she was forced to reduce her operating hours unlike before when she operated from 9 in the morning to late in the evening.
“During the electioneering period business was lucrative. We would operate without restrictions and despite the challenging economic times, which is adversely affecting business, we were reaping big from prolonged working hours. Now I just make enough to afford a meal a day,” she lamented.
The hawkers whose levy fees were scrapped for a period of three months by Governor Joseph Ole Lenku during the electioneering period as they waited for the new market to be opened.
“During the launch of the Municipality we were promised we were to be moved to the new market once it was opened but the market has not been opened and now we have been chased away from our normal trading places,” she said.
“This is proving difficult for us to conduct business peacefully and the place I now occupy does not have a lot of traffic hence making losses every day. But what can I do since my children depend on me for food and school’s fees,” lamented Mama Jane, a trader in the area.
Some residents have however welcomed the move citing insecurity concerns.
“Having the hawkers moved is a benefit in disguise. Due to their large numbers and the crowding at the bus park with bodaboda operators as well, walking there you would hear someone had been mugged of valuables like phones and when one tries to check who has robbed you, they would all be silent,” said Mohammed Jamal a resident in the area.
Other residents however found the move hastened and called for the county government to open the market first then move the traders.
“It’s quite unfortunate to see the traders moved like that and not just at the bus-stage its happening in all parts of Kitengela. We like to promote them as they are making a living in a decent way. The county Government should have opened their market and moved them there and not the other way round,” said Boniface Njuguna a business man in the area.
Over 700 hawkers in Kitengela are officially registered, but the number has grown as more vendors operate on the roadsides and in open areas.
