Up in arms, the traders voiced their opposition to the proposed action/CFM
NYERI, Kenya, Feb 9 – Hundreds of Nyeri hawkers staged demonstrations in Nyeri town on Friday marching to the governor’s office after the county government threatened to demolish illegal kiosks.
The hawkers have vowed to remain in the streets until the county government shows them where to relocate.
The angry traders operating illegal kiosks on road reserves in Nyeri town stormed the county offices protesting eviction from the streets.
The more than 500 traders have accused the governor and his Executive of failing to consult them on the planned eviction that would see their kiosks demolished if they did not remove them.
Nyeri MP Ngunjiri Wambugu and Rware Ward MCA Paul Kanyari are among the elected leaders who led the traders in the demonstrations that started on Gakere Road at the heart of Nyeri towards the governor’s office.
Addressing the traders, the County Executive in charge of Transport and Infrastructure Muthui Kariuki assured them they’d be wide-reaching consultations before any action was taken.
On his part, Ngunjiri Wambugu demanded that the county government consult the traders before re-carpeting Nyeri town; stating that the hawkers earn their daily bread from the small scale businesses that the county government wants to demolish.
On his part, Rware Ward MCA Paul Kanyari who is a former hawker echoed similar sentiments saying that the traders must be shown where to relocate before they are evicted from the road reserves.
On Thursday, Muthui Kariuki said the county government would be evicting the traders in the interest of re-carpeting the county’s roads at a cost of more than Sh500 million.
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