City Hawkers Protest Against Order To Keep Off CBD
City Hawkers Protest Against Order To Keep Off CBD
The placard-waving street traders blew whistles, ululated, and punched fists in the air chanting ‘haki yetu’ as they marched around City Hall precincts.
The hawkers are irked by an order issued on January 9 banning them from venturing onto certain streets in Nairobi CBD to hawk their wares.
The order dated January 6 and signed by acting county secretary Godfrey Akumali said hawkers would only be allowed on backstreets and lanes from Monday to Saturday from 4 pm to 10 pm.
“The designated backstreets are within the zone from Tom Mboya Street to Kirinyaga Road. No hawking will be allowed on the main streets and roads, i.e. Moi Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Kenneth Matiba Road, Latema Road, Ronald Ngala Street, Mfangano Street, Hakati Road, and River Road,” Akumali said.
He said all walkways within the Central Business District are strictly designated for pedestrians and not trading.
“The general public is asked to take note that anyone contravening this notice will be prosecuted within the Nairobi City County Government by-law,” the acting county secretary warned.
The proliferation of hawkers in Nairobi CBD has been a menace that subsequent county government administrations failed to effectively manage, occasionally resulting in violent clashes between the traders and enforcement officers.
Upon his election as the county boss at the August 2022 elections, Sakaja promised to initiate reforms in the management of the affairs of the capital county under the slogan ‘Lazima I work’ – Let’s Make Nairobi Work.
It included relocating city traders to the newly constructed Kangundo Road Market on the outskirts of the city.
The initiative took a political turn a couple of months ago when traders at the Wakulima Market, popularly known as Marikiti, defied the order to relocate to the new market.
Rigathi Gachagua, then serving as Deputy President, asked the government to listen to the traders and stop the proposed forceful relocation, a stand that would later contribute to his impeachment on October 17 for insubordination.
Ahead of the hawkers’ march on Friday, Sakaja walked the streets and met with traders and city dwellers who were going about their businesses and reaffirmed his stand to decongest city streets.
“Walkable CBD. The people want order na iwe hivyo. We shall sustain,” he affirmed.
City Hawkers Protest Against Order To Keep Off CBD
