Nairobi: A dramatic scene was witnessed in the Central Business District (CBD) when the County Chief Officer of Environment, Geoffrey Mosiria, confronted hawkers.
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In a video making rounds online, a woman who was visibly upset called out Mosiria for asking her to stop blocking walkways in the city.
The woman who was captured carrying her toddler on her back and a sack of merchandise on her hand refused to move from the walkway.
She was captured moments later, having spread her goods on the ground, attempting to sell them, when Mosiria approached again.
“Kindly allow us to mourn, please. You don’t see the direction in which the country is moving. We are mourning, kindly leave us alone, please,” the woman said as she ate an orange.
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The angry woman further dared Mosiria and other county officials to stop her from selling her oranges by taking them away.
“You pretend to be helping people. Who exactly do you help? I can refuse to move from this place. Are God to forgive me? I am not creating drama, I am simply telling you the truth. Go help those business people whose shops were broken into and merchandise stolen,” the woman continued.
This comes months after the Nairobi county government issued a directive banning hawkers from operating on main streets in the central business district.
How did Mosiria respond to the drama?
The county chief officer of environment criticised the drama exhibited by the hawkers, claiming that their actions were meant to seek public sympathy.
He argued that the hawkers did everything possible to provoke him, but he acted professionally to keep himself from being criticised for harassing hawkers.
“They were hoping I would lose my temper and react in a way that would make it seem like I was harassing them. But I maintained professionalism, composure, and restraint, even in the face of open provocation,” Osiria told TUKO.co.ke.
Additionally, Mosiria stated that many shop owners in the city complained about having the entrance of their shops blocked by hawkers selling the same products.
“Unfortunately, some hawkers have normalised disorder in our city. They feel entitled to occupy pavements, block walkways, and even obstruct legitimate shop owners from accessing their customers. Many shop owners in the CBD have suffered in silence, paying rent, business permits, and taxes, only to have their shopfronts blocked by hawkers selling the same products, sometimes at lower prices, just to divert customers. This is not fair. It’s not lawful,” he added.
He further urged hawkers in CBD to stop using poverty as an excuse for lawlessness or even a permit to break the law that was put in place by the county government.
Mosiria also called upon Kenyans to give county officials an easy time as they carry out their jobs, which is to ensure order in the city.
“I call upon members of the public, when you see officers doing the right thing, support them. Understand that it’s not about harassment, it’s about restoring dignity, order, and fairness in our city. Nairobi belongs to all of us, and for it to work, we all must play by the same rules,” he concluded.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
