Hawkers arm street children to fight city police

By COLLINS KWEYU

City police have warned hawkers against using street children to fight police. Police say hawkers arm street children with crude weapons to join ‘battles’ between police and hawkers.

“We received intelligence reports that hawkers are arming street children with pangas to fight us to remain in the NCBD,” said Nairobi County Deputy Administration Police Commander Chrispus Mutali .

 “I can assure you this will not be tolerated. We’ll conduct a massive operation to rid the city of hawkers and take the street kids to rehabilitation centres.”  Mutali said an anti-hawkers squad of over 450 officers drawn from the Kenya Police, AP and Nairobi County will be stationed at the Globe Cinema roundabout, near Fig Tree stage and at the Fire Station headquarters to keep the hawkers off the CBD.

He said officers cannot engage hawkers in night ‘fights’ for security reasons but praised a special police unit ‘Alfa Mike’ for reducing crime in the city’s most dangerous spots.