Video of Police Mercilessly Beating Hawkers Causes Outrage

A video of police beating up hawkers and destroying their goods has caused public outrage.

The video surfaced online on Thursday and initial reports indicated that it was taken in Uasin Gishu County which is headed by Governor Jackson Mandago.

In the clip, police are seen mercilessly beating up a hawker, dragging him on the road and later driving over the fruits he was selling.

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The officers descended on the man with clubs and landed numerous kicks on him before firing tear gas canisters to disperse the rest.

Our efforts to contact Uasin Gishu county government did not bear fruit as they were not available for comment.

This is not the first time hawkers in Eldoret have pointed an accusing finger at Mr Mandago as they complained of being harassed by his administration prior to the 2017 General Election.

At the time, the Governor rubbished those claims, instead, accusing his political rivals of tarnishing his name.

“We now have a government in office. It is the government that can plan and not an individual who does not have resources to plan.

"Stop being lied to by people who have no agenda for you at all,” Governor Mandago told the hawkers.

Elsewhere, residents of Nairobi have complained of filth in the CBD and have attributed the deteriorating standards to hawkers who never clean up after close of business.

Many have called on Governor Mike Sonko to address the issue before it gets out of hand.

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