Deputy president-elect, Rigathi Gachagua, has hinted at mandatory training for county askaris popularly known as kanjos once Kenya Kwanza leadership assumes office.
Speaking in Mombasa county on Thursday, August 25, Gachagua explained that there was a need to retrain the county officials who have often been accused of harassing traders in various towns across the country.
He added that traders needed to be treated humanely even as the county officials implement regulations such as licensing.
Gachagua stated that the training had been agreed upon with the governors elected under the Kenya Kwanza alliance.
"In UDA, we have agreed with the governors that the county askaris must go back to training so that they realise that the citizens are not their enemies but their bosses," Gachagua stated.
Additionally, he expressed that he would personally attend the session as Kenya Kwanza seeks to transform the perception of the kanjos.
The deputy president-elect made the statements while popularising the candidature of Hassan Omar who is contesting for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat on a UDA ticket.
The polls were moved to Monday, August 9, after they were postponed following a mix-up in the printing of ballot papers.
"When you (Omar) become a governor, please call these askaris to a meeting. I will also attend that meeting so that we can tell them that the harassing of traders is long gone," Gachagua remarked.
Kanjos have in recent years been accused of harassing traders and soliciting money from Kenyans and business people found to have contravened some city bylaws.
The harassment of traders was among the problems that were identified by UDA during the countrywide presidential elections.
President-elect William Ruto, in particular, noted that many traders were scared of doing business as they are often mistreatment by county officials. At the time, he promised that his administration would work to empower small-scale traders through access to credit and make the licencing processes friendly.
"Small-scale trade makes up 80 per cent of all businesses in Kenya but they face serious challenges including lack of access to credit and are also victims of harassment from various administrative agencies," the DP stated at a rally in Makongeni, Nairobi County.
