Thursday October 19, 2023 – Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja was forced to compensate street vendors whose tools of trade were vandalized and destroyed by city askaris, popularly known as Kanjos.
This follows a public uproar over the inhumane manner in which Kanjos destroyed the venders’ tools.
In a statement to Nairobians yesterday, Sakaja ordered that each of the vendors whose carts were vandalised and seized by County officers popularly known as kanjos be compensated Ksh10,000 each.
He expressed regret over the incident saying that the County Government will take disciplinary action against the involved officers.
“I have ordered the immediate release of all confiscated items, apologized to the traders and personally compensated each of them to the tune of 10,000 shillings each,” the Governor said in a statement.
While issuing an apology, Sakaja maintained that over the years, the County leadership has fostered a cordial relationship but regretted that recent trends have been threatening to sabotage that.
“Even if the traders were operating without the required documentation, including a Medical Certificate from Public Health that every food handler must have for the safety of Nairobians, they did not deserve such treatment and we are dealing with this internally,” Sakaja said in his statement.
Earlier in the day, the askaris had vandalised and seized vending carts which was followed by uproar from Kenyans who questioned whether the hostility meted on the traders was necessary.
No valid reason was given for the vandalism when it was happening.
Photos shared widely depicted smokies and boiled eggs sprawled on the roadside while a county askari lorry towed other trolleys.
Besides ordinary Kenyans, prominent personalities also waded into the debate.
President William Ruto’s Economic Advisor David Ndii called out Sakaja, accusing his Government of being non-friendly to hustlers.
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