Nairobi county askaris evict shoeshiners and hawkers

Hundreds of shoeshiners across Nairobi yesterday woke up to a rude shock after they found their businesses demolished by the Nairobi County Government.

The demolition is said to have taken place overnight overseen by acting County Secretary Godfrey Akumali and Chief of Staff David Njoroge who accused the shoe shiners of erecting illegal structures on pedestrian walkways.

“We have not evicted anyone, we have demolished illegal structures that have been obstructing the movement of people,” said Njoroge.

In a statement to newsrooms, the CBD Shoe Shining Association termed the demolition as unfortunate, saying that close to 1,500 shoeshiners were affected, incurring losses running up to Sh15 million.

The association also says that the demolition was illegal since they have followed all legal procedures including having the right documents.

“We confirm the legality to operate in all our designated areas within CBD    since we have plot numbers indicated in the licenses issued by the Nairobi City County,” reads the statement from the shoeshiners.

It adds: “The companies which have been in operation for the last 14 years are mostly affected but have been observing the rules and regulations of the county by-laws.”

They requested for a meeting with the governor to thrash out an amicable solution regarding the matter.

The demolitions come just less than a month after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja warned that the county was not going to entertain anyone operating along the walkways.

Sakaja said his administration would take action on hawkers found hawking on the refurbished walkways.

“I inspected ongoing works around the CBD while interacting with Wananchi who provided a lot of wonderful feedback on the walkway improvement that’s ongoing on key roads. The new walkways are for pedestrians and not hawking. We will enforce this strictly,” said the Nairobi County boss.