PDATE: Wednesday, 24, 6:00 PM: The hawker who was dragged by a speeding Kisumu county vehicle has opened up on what transpired in the video that has since gone viral.
The hawkers name is Magolo and she was at Angáwa Street heading to Kisumu Main Bus Terminus when the askaris ambushed her.
“I was not aware of their presence, so when several hands held me, I tried to turn and see what was happening but it was not possible. They handled me inappropriately and tried to bundle me into the back of the pickup,” she said.
The 38-year-old turned to the men and resisted their action which attracted the attention of other hawkers and boda boda rider nearby. The driver from the pickup then speed off as the boda boda operators begun to gather around.
One askari held Magolo’s right arm tightly dragging her in the tarmac road not bothering to let go despite the outcry. She was dropped next to a police station where the Kanjo's vehicle was headed.
The officers shamelessly booked her in despite the injuries on her limps. Her 22-year-old son who had made attempt to rescue her was also booked by the officer.
The askaris' action has since received multiple criticism from the public.
A speeding county van conducting patrols inside Kisumu town dragged a hawker on the tarmac, in an incident that was captured on video.
The video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, shows the vehicle, which witnesses say belongs to the Kisumu County, dragging a female hawker on the tarmac as it sped away from a mob.
Sources indicate that the vehicle was carrying hawkers who were arrested for allegedly conducting business illegally on the streets of Kisumu.
The hawkers accused the county officers of mistreatment, adding that they have been arbitrarily harassed, beaten up on the streets and even thrown in cells - as the administration remain silent.
Sources indicate that the hawkers were attempting to rescue their colleagues who had been arrested when one of them got stuck under the vehicle as it sped off.
The Woman's 22-year-old son who came to her rescue was also locked up at Central Police Station where the seppeding vehicle was headed.
Boda boda riders joined the hawkers in the protest - as they drove away the officers in what was slowly becoming an ugly scene.
The riders vowed to take matters into their own hands should Governor Anyang' Nyong’o fail to address the issues of hawkers - and bodaboda operators in the county.
Governor Nyong’o has in the past attempted to evict traders from Kisumu town saying that the city needed to have some aesthetic value.
''We want to improve on the aesthetic value of the city, and to make sure that anybody who walks in the city streets does not walk on mud, but paved cabros and tarmac, hence the cleanup,'' Nyong'o said in 2020.
On March 12, thousands of small traders from Kisumu were displaced as the county prepared to host the Africities Summit.
In 2016, a female hawker was almost ran over by a bus after hiding under it while attempting to get away from the city askaris. The shaken middle aged woman left the bus after over an hour despite convincing by witnesses that the officials had left.
Watch the video below:
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