City traders demand release of goods held in Mombasa

Nairobi importers and traders Association protest asking the government to release their goods held at Mombasa Port

Hundreds of city traders took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against withholding of their goods at the port of Mombasain the ongoing crackdown on contraband items.

They claimed their businesses were going down since for months they had not received their imported goods.

The traders, who mostly deal in electronics and clothing, and operate from Kamukunji, Gikomba, Nyamakima, Luthuli Avenue and River Road, said the fight against illicit goods was being abused to punish legitimate businesses.

“We demand that our goods be released from the port. For close to six months we have been following this up and we have not found a solution,” a trader said.

The Government has intensified the crackdown on counterfeit and contraband goods in the country.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his Trade counterpart Aden Mohamed said goods that did not meet Kenyan safety standards would be destroyed.

Nairobi Importers and Traders Association Chairman Ben Mutahi said whereas they fully supported the Government’s effort to fight against counterfeit and contraband goods, it should not implement blanket destruction of imported goods at the port.

“A few items of contraband goods found in a container of consolidated goods should not warrant destruction of all the goods within the container,” Mr Mutahi said.

He said containers carried goods for different traders and they had no control of how the goods were consolidated within a single container. They asked not to be unfairly punished or made to bear the burden of those importing contraband goods.

The traders complained about continued harassment by Government agencies such as Anti-Counterfeit Agency and the Kenya Bureau of Standards officials, who, they said, raided their shops and homes purporting to inspect goods in the traders’ possession. “Inspection of goods should be done at the entry points,” said Mutahi.

The traders asked the Government to define the functions of different agencies, noting that a court order or warrant should be presented before  a search is conducted in trader’s premise.

They also decried infiltration of foreigners, especially the Chinese, in Kenyan market.

According to the traders, the Chinese should not be allowed to operate businesses conducted by common traders because they are at a greater advantage to import goods cheaply.

They said Chinese were opening shops and operating from warehouses, thereby taking over the businesses that should be operated by local traders.

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, nominated senator Millicent Omanga, Nandi Hills Member of Parliament Alfred Keter and his Starehe counterpart Charles Njagua met the traders outside Harambee House to listen to their demands.

“No Chinese has a work permit to hawk in the country,” Mr Sakaja said, as he received their petition, promising to forward it to the President and Deputy President.

He said there was need for traders to be educated on the new standards, policies and procedures that were not clear to small traders.