Jomo Kenyatta beach traders fear loss of business if evicted THREATENED: Kiosks at Jomo Kenyatta beach in Mombasa. Traders have been told to leave the area.Photo/Charles Mghenyi Traders on the Jomo Kenyatta public beach in Mombasa say they fear being evicted from by the county government. The traders told said on Friday the government has ordered the demolition of their premises because they are a road reserve. They said they been operating in the area for more than 20 years and the order came as a surprise to them because they are registered and have been paying their rates promptly. Nasri Abdalla, a trader at the beach since 1993, said this is the first time they have been ordered to pull down their structures. “They came and demanded to us to pull down our structures without prior eviction notice to” he said. Abdalla said they will seek audience with Governor Hassan Joho to address the issue because they suspected ‘underground’ dealings by the askaris who want to be bribed. He said they will suffer a major blow if they are not allowed to continue with their business as they head towards the December festive season. “We are heading toward the holiday season and some people are coming to destroy our daily source of livelihoods,” he said. Aisha Mulola said they have registered Sh140, 000 loses for the past two days that they have not been operating. She said she, as an individual, had made a loss of Sh10, 000 from the structure which was pulled down and her daily fried potatoes and crisps which spoilt during the two day they have not operated. She said they might not be able to take their children back to schools in January if they are allowed to operate in December. They alleged they received a letter two weeks ago which had asked all beach operators to pay their rates on time. It never mentioned anything to do with their structures, they said. The county chief inspectorate Ibrahim Bassafar could not be reached for a comment as his phone was off on of Saturday and Sunday.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 08:13:31 +0000
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