Hawkers remain key challenge to Kenyan towns

NAIROBI, KENYA: Jane Wanjiku throws furtive glances as she hawks clothes in the streets of Nakuru town late in the evening.

Always on the alert, Ms Wanjiku’s official business hours start late to avoid being nabbed by the Nakuru County askari.

“This is how most of us hawk without designated spaces to work. We usually come out in the evening when the county askari and most shop owners have closed business,” she said.

Wanjiku, unlike Moses Maina, a former hawker who abandoned his second-hand clothes business, has also ventured into farming during the day as the business records low returns.

Mr Maina decided to ditch his mitumba business in 2015, when the county administration flushed hawkers out of the central business district in an effort to decongest the town and allocated them new areas.

“I had been operating the business for almost five years within the CBD, but the battle between hawkers and the county government ensued, resulting in an unstable business and very low returns,” he said.

“It became a cat-and-mouse game. I finally quit when I failed to get space.”

He finally got a loan and opened a shop in the estate where he lives.

“Life is much easier now than it was when I was hawking in the streets. Some of my colleagues were lucky to get stalls but the majority of us left,” he added.

While their fortunes may have turned out differently, both Wanjiku and Maina form part of the narrative that continues to pose a major headache for a number of towns across the country.

Last week’s violent confrontation between hawkers and police in Eldoret town brought to the fore the challenge many cities are grappling with.

At least six people were injured, three of them said to have sustained gunshot wounds, when vendors clashed with police, who were evicting them from the streets.

The Uasin Gishu county administration had a difficult time settling vendors in designated trade areas to ease congestion in Eldoret town.

The hawkers’ representative, David Mburu, dismissed Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno’s claims that they had refused to relocate to a new market, saying the county had failed to provide space for small-scale traders.

Hawkers’ market

Mr Chemno maintained the county askari and police did not hurt any hawkers, adding they only defended themselves after they were confronted by individuals trading in illicit liquor, bhang and other drugs.

“The county built a hawkers’ market worth Sh150 million but the individuals trading on streets, which is not permitted, refused to move to the designated space,” he said.

“Our officers were rightfully evicting them but some illegal drug dealers confronted them and even stabbed one of our officers.”

Kisumu City Hall records show there are approximately 10,000 hawkers in areas not designated as markets, a situation that has posed a big challenge in maintaining cleanliness and smooth movement in the town.

Efforts to rid the CBD of hawkers have been futile following politicisation of the issue that came out during the 2017 electioneering period, with politicians promising they would not be evicted from the city centre.

The famous French government-funded Kisumu Urban Project (KUP) had been seen as a solution to the menace.

The initiative had allocated Sh770 million for the construction of three markets - Jubilee, Kibuye and Otonglo - which would host over 12,000 people.

But with the project stalled, Kisumu residents will continue to live with the hawker menace.

“Once these people (leaders) get you off the streets without a place to go, that will be all. So we will wait until the ‘promised land’ is ready before we can move,” said Amos Ochieng, a hawker on Jomo Kenyatta Highway.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Regional Chairman Israel Agina said traders, especially in the CBD, had expressed concerns about the peddlers.

“Main businesses rent houses, pay tax and other relevant licences while hawkers place similar products right at the entrances of their stores,” said Mr Agina.

“This has pushed some of the owners of the major stores to find space outside their stores to compete with the hawkers. This is not what we would expect,” he added.

In Nakuru, Street Traders and Hawkers Association Chairman Simon ole Nasieku said 2,400 registered hawkers were not given space during the 2015 relocation exercise.

Some hawkers now offer money to county officers who allow them to sell their goods in the streets in return. They claim they pay between Sh50 and Sh100 daily.

“I give Sh50 to ‘kanjo’ then I can sell my eggs on the streets. It’s better to give them the cash and carry on with my business without the stress of being chased from the streets,” said another hawker.

The return of hawkers to the streets has however affected business for traders who have stalls and shops.

“Those who hawk have an upper hand because their goods are easily spotted and slightly cheaper than ours because they do not pay for space,” said Kennedy Odhiambo, a trader.

Mr Odhiambo rented a stall in the market after they were flushed out of the streets. He pays monthly rent of Sh3,000.

But there are matatu operators who have termed hawking a menace.

“Some sell fake products, knowing it is unlikely that customers will see them again. Others run away with customers’ change, especially at the bus stops,” said Naomi Kariuki, a conductor at the Mashambani bus stop.

Nakuru Trade Executive Peter Ketyenya said the county government was working to ensure that hawkers got stalls.

“There are some registered hawkers who are yet to be allocated stalls and we are working to ensure that before the year ends, we will have relocated them as well,” said Dr Ketyenya.

In Nyeri town, streets are turned into one large open-air market between 5.30pm and 9pm as informal traders lay their wares on the roads.

What began as a gesture to help vendors in town now poses a challenge, with far-reaching economic and political implications.

Decision welcome

In 2012, towards the end of former President Mwai Kibaki’s term, the County Council of Nyeri under the leadership of then mayor Edward Muteru allowed hawkers to operate on Gakere Road.

The road, which is the main route leading to the Nyeri-Nairobi matatu terminus, was blocked off on Sundays to enable the traders to display and sell their wares from 2pm till late.

While the decision was welcomed by most as a way to accommodate the growing number of people conducting informal businesses in Nyeri, the advent of the county government allowed the tradersto carry on with their businesses six days a week from 5.30pm at a fee of Sh10 per day.

A new and steady stream of income for the county government, the traders began to increase from about 100 to a now staggering 7,000 traders who occupy all major routes into the town and around all major matatu routes.

James Muringo , a trader affected by the increase of the hawkers, is concerned.

“These traders sell their wares right outside the shops and businesses of people who pay as much Sh 15,000 per month to the county government in licences,” he said.

He noted that while medium-sized businesses paid rent for their premises and paid employees, the hawkers paid only Sh300 per month to conduct similar trade.

His sentiments were echoed by Nyeri Chamber of Commerce Chairman Joe Machira, who noted the situation had morphed into an unmanageable mess.

“Devolution has complicated matters because the county sees hawkers as a source of revenue and while they pay millions of shillings in revenue, it is affecting the more than 600 businesses that also pay fees to the county,” he said.

He added that because of their large numbers, the hawkers were now a political force as they had the support of the political class.

Mr Machira warned more business owners were relocating to neighbouring towns like Nanyuki, which they felt were more organised.

“We are engaging the county government to find a solution that ensures fairness for the business owners and the hawkers, such as a complete overhaul of the physical planning of the town,” Machira said.

But the hawkers deny interfering with established businesses.

Miariro Group Secretary John Mwangi said they had a right to be on the streets because they were taxpaying Kenyans.

“We are over 7,000 traders and we cannot all fit in the market. Most of us also cannot afford the market stall fees, which sometimes go up to Sh20,000 because of third party fees,” he said.