Following the closure of markets in Kisumu County over the coronavirus outbreak, traders have been forced to become inventive to survive the difficult times.
Traders have commandeered several temporary locations dubbed 'Corona markets' operating outside the guidelines set out by the county government.
A report by The Standard on Sunday, March 29, provides that the markets in Kondele slum area of Kisumu pop up in alleyways in a cat-and-mouse game with county askaris as traders struggle to earn a living.
County askaris struggle to bring an end to this unauthorised trading, occasionally lobbing teargas at the traders to disperse them.
The traders have maintained that they lack better alternatives with the mounting pressure to keep their business running and some money in their pockets.
Mike Oduor, one of the traders backed into a corner by the directive to close markets had been forced to sell his wares at the bypass.
“Staying at home with mouths to feed is hard, we just have to come and sell,” stated Oduor.
Oduor is among tens of traders including vendors in Tom Mboya and Manyatta areas who have chosen to operate from deserted alleys.
The traders must, however, constantly deal with the risk of askaris finding them and carting off with their goods.
To protect themselves against this, they only display a few of their wares while keeping the rest packed in sacks in case they must leave in a hurry.
Traders like Mike Oduor and his counterparts forced into cat-and-mouse games with askaris make up 83.1 % of the country's labour force as per the 2017 Economic Survey by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics.
