Traders protesting Sakaja’s Directives Teargassed
Traders protesting Sakaja’s Directives Teargassed
Following Governor Sakaja’s decision to raise the fees imposed on them, Burmese market vendors staged protests on Thursday morning. During the demonstrations, the traders criticized the governor for raising the prices for selling cows and their carcasses at the market.
Police were had to use tear gas canisters to disperse the protesting merchants during the demonstration. “This whole thing started because of the City Council. In a widely shared video, one of the enraged dealers bemoaned the fact that “they have increased cess for cows.”
“Initially we were paying Ksh 150 for carcass but now they have increased it to Ksh 300, we are saying that it is quite unfair to business people because we are taxed twice.”
The county government, according to the traders, did not provide them with a justification for the increase, which they claim has impacted their business operations.
Now that they are on strike, the traders are pleading with the governor to solve their concerns, especially their tense relationship with Nairobi County authorities known as “kanjos” and askaris. These protests are taking place the day after the Governor met with a group of Nairobi-based traders to discuss topics that are important to them. In an additional effort to reestablish order and sanity, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja prohibited hawking in a portion of the city’s Central Business District (CBD) on Wednesday. Following a consultative meeting between inspectorate officers and representatives of hawkers, the governor issued the instructions.According to the new directives, hawkers will not be permitted to use pavements along the Tom Mboya stretch that leads to Moi Avenue.
