MPs Arama, Gikaria and Two MCAs Support Hawkers, Lead Protests By Taitiana Mercy Tuesday, June 3 2014 Two Nakuru MPs and two MCAs today joined hawkers protesting over the demolition of their structures last night in two parts of Nakuru town. MPs David Gikaria of Nakuru Town East and Samuel Arama of Nakuru Town West plus MCAs Stephen Mheshimiwa Muiruri of Biashara and Moses Gichangi Njiri of Flamingo wards said it was wrong for the structures to be demolished at night. The areas where regular, administrative and county police pulled down the structures are between Eveready Batteries Ltd factory and Total West End petrol station in Arama’s constituency and the area near the Nakuru Retail Market (around the City Clock) in Nakuru town that is in Gikaria’s political area. Addressing the protestors outside the Nakuru County Headquarters at around noon, the four leaders also called for the disbandment of the municipal court located there claiming it was an instrument used to harass petty traders by the authorities. Gikaria asked bodaboda operators to defy an order barring them from passing by the Governor’s office arguing it is illegal saying if the situation prevails he shall “fight the Governor until he recognises the rights of petty traders”. He claimed that a hawkers leader, Simon ole Nasieku, was paid Sh 0.6m and given a fully paid for trip to a Rwanda so that he compromises the people who elected him to represent the interests of petty traders in the town. On the courts he particularly singled out a prosecutor called Sanya who he said colludes with county officials and police to “fix bribe rates daily before deciding which area of the two constituencies to go and harass traders”. Arama called for the removal of two ‘brutal enforcement officers he identified as Bosire and Nyanaro. “We are giving the Governor Kinuthia Mbugua 14 days to relocate the municipal court to where the regular law courts are so that it can reclaim its independence and be freed from undue influence’, said Gikaria. Arama said he and Gikaria spent the night fighting for the hawkers against the midnight demolishers adding the development was shocking because he was the only law-maker who was last with the Governor at Afraha Stadium during Madaraka day celebrations the previous day “and the Governor did not even tell us that he will raze down the kiosks”. He said the issue of hawkers should be treated with kids’ gloves given that the two constituencies were the biggest revenue generators of the county government. He said as far as the leaders were concerned, the hawkers were to be consulted alongside their leaders before relocation is done to the Hawkers Complex whose construction is overdue at the Nakuru wholesale market. He claimed that a hawker who merely resisted arrest was charged with robbery with violence ‘for merely fighting for his rights” and called for his unconditional release and discharge while Gikaria claimed that a woman was admitted with injuries at the Nakuru Provincial Hospital following the altercation and he went to visit her after the meeting. Gikaria threatened to call upon residents of municipal estates to boycott paying rent and promised to mobilize hordes of youth “to guard our properties from further destruction by illegal orders from some office bearers”. They called upon Governor Kinuthia to call a political and business leaders meeting tomorrow where the issue of hawkers will be discussed and the way forward reached amicably. On his part Kuria claimed that Governor Kinuthia has since elevated ole Nasieku to be “MCA of Nakuru town” yet he (Muiruri) was the elected one. On Madaraka Day Governor Kinuthia gave hawkers who have erected illegal structures in the town notice to remove them or else this will be done forcibly. He said there is no other city apart from Nakuru where hawkers are operating with impunity adding he will not tolerate a situation where the town instead of looking forward to become a modern city was slowly being downgraded into a large slum by being flooded by hawkers erecting illegal structures within the CBD. “Hawking means moving your wares around and not sticking to one place. If we find you at one place where you have built structures we shall remove them. I am giving them a warning, remove the structures now and not tomorrow”, he said while delivering his keynote speech during the national day.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 14:14:01 +0000
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