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During his campaigns in the city centre, Peter Njoroge stood out from other rivals vying for Nairobi Central Member of County Assembly seat.
All along, Njoroge was campaigning on a handcart commonly known as mkokoteni. This was symbolic for him, since he is the chairman of Handcart and Trolley Association in Nairobi.
Njoroge, who was vying for the seat on an independent ticket, lost to UDA' s John Mwaniki in a hotly contested race that saw other prominent candidates trounced.
Even so, Njoroge says the race has strengthened and prepared him to continue pushing for better services not only in the sector but also for other stakeholders in the CBD.
"Nothing has changed because I'm still defending the rights of the people within the city centre," Njoroge told The Nairobian.
Njoroge has been nicknamed "Jahazi" by traders around the city centre for coming to their rescue, thanks to his connection with cops and city-county askaris.
"Even if I were elected MCA, nothing much could have changed, even the promises that I made during the campaigns will still stand," he said
He pointed out: "In fact, I'm more energetic now than before. My focus now has expanded from mkokoteni to everyone, including boda bodas and everyone who feels oppressed and wants to be heard."
Njoroge attended Kabete Technical and pursued a diploma in mechanical engineering at the Kenya Polytechnic in the mid-1980s.
Afterwards, he joined KTTC to train as a teacher and furthered his studies to earn a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Kenyatta University.
Njoroge has been the coordinator of Trolley and Hand Cart Pushers Association, a position he has held for many years after the company he used to work for closed down.
"In 2015, I was working as a plant engineer in a polythene company in Industrial Area. When the government started pushing for a ban on plastic use, the company fired many staff. Unfortunately, I was a victim," he says.
"I had risen to senior level. I had known some people who owned distribution shops in Kamukunji and other traders in the city centre. I knew that selling in bulk would require a delivery plan," he said.
With the idea, he bought five trolleys and approached a popular trader on Duruma Road and convinced him to lease the trolleys for regular deliveries.
"I knew people who had invested in trolley and mkokoteni business and when I came in, some were facing rough time at the hands of Nairobi City County askaris," he says.
A group of handcart and trolley pushers tasked him with managing their trolleys, before he was elected the chairman.
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