Kenyan hawker fights for space in Botswana streets

By Erick Wamanji

Even as the City Council of Nairobi makes it difficult for hawkers, a Kenyan is doing booming business in Gaborone streets.

The Standard on Saturday met Esther Wairimu outside the River Walk Shopping Mall, one of the biggest shopping centres in Botswana.

She is among four hawkers who are trying to woo customers this blistering Saturday afternoon. Among her wares is a Maasai leather belt with tiny beads placed meticulously on it to form a motif of sky-blue and white — the colours of Botswana national flag. On weekends, locals choose to while their afternoons in coffee shops and malls and few have time for curio dealers.

Ms Esther Wairimu at work in Gaborone, Botswana. [PHOTOS: ERICK WAMANJI/STANDARD]

"Business is slow today. People are not ready to spend, I don’t know why," she says.

She is among Kenyan traders who have flocked to Botswana. The Form Four graduate says she went there two years ago. "The problem with this place is that life is very expensive. You have to be very aggressive to remain afloat…you know there are no shambas here so you buy everything, which is imported," she says.

Business has been good, she says. However, the authorities ensure foreigners do not push locals out of business. For instance, Wairimu and other foreigners can only operate on weekends because weekdays are reserved for local hawkers.

"This directive has heavily affected our business. So most of the time, I’m idle," she says. She hopes to tap into the growing interest in southern Africa locally. She buys her wares from Nairobi’s Maasai market. "We normally go through South Africa before connecting to Gaborone. So in South Africa, it is common for our stuff to disappear or get damaged. But I hear Kenya Airways has started direct flights here, perhaps that will save us the headache," she says.