By Brigid Chemweno
Kajiado, Kenya: Defiant food hawkers in Kajiado North towns are risking being jailed following a ban on illegal hawking of food in the towns, the District Public Health Officer has said.
The hawkers in Ngong, Ongata Rongai, Kiserian, Magadi and Ewuaso Kedong towns have encroached into the roads as they cook and sell their foods under unhygienic conditions.
“Preparation, storage, cooking and sale of any food should be done according to the Public Health Act Cap 242 and food drugs and chemical act Cap 254 Laws,” Kajiado North district Public Health Officer Sammy Macharia said.
He said hawking of food stuff that is prepared and sold under unsanitary conditions had increased within the district, a scenario which may lead to emergence of diseases like typhoid and cholera if the issue is not addressed.
The officer said it is the duty of the Public Health office to safeguard the citizenry of the district from health hazards arising from preventive diseases and therefore send a stern warning to food hawkers, and directed the authorities to use any legal means at their disposal in compliance with the order.
