Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has banned hawking in sections of Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) in a move to restore order and sanity.
The governor made the orders following a consultative meeting between inspectorate officers and representatives of hawkers.
Per the new orders, hawking will be banned along the Tom Mboya section leading to Moi Avenue, meaning that hawkers will be banned from accessing the pavements.
Sakaja added that the order will be enforced Thursday morning.
“I'm not just taking care of you, I'm also taking care of the people walking in the city," Sakaja noted.
"We want to treat our people as human beings and do the right thing. I want to make it clear that from Tom Mboya coming to Moi Avenue, the lanes connecting to Moi Avenue will have no hawking."
The governor further mentioned that priority will be given to hawkers in the back lanes, where they will be permitted to conduct their business activities.
"In fact, they should be given priority on the back lanes because we have a plan for that road. We have a plan for that road because we have received billions from investors from the French Development Agency when I was in Paris, we will construct a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system," he added.
Sakaja also stated that there were preparations underway to widen the road, with the intention of facilitating hawking in the future. He emphasized that these decisions were taken to make the road accessible to all users.
"We're going to expand that road to be hawkable because I am not just taking care of you, I'm taking care of Kenyans who are walking, those owning shops. So everybody must get their piece, we cannot favour one group over another."
Additionally, the governor instructed that all inspectorate officers (kanjos) will undergo refresher training sessions on how to handle people during operations. The officers will also be designated to specific spots in the CBD.
This, according to Sakaja, will enhance effectiveness in the sector that has been marred with controversy over their conduct.
