Kidero sacks top City Hall officials in bid to kick out hawkers
Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero on Tuesday fired top officials in the Inspectorate department in a fresh effort to get rid of hawkers from the city centre.
Dr Kidero sacked the director of Inspector Hillary Wambugu together with five other senior officers at City Hall.
Mr Wambugu is among six senior officers who have been fired for corruption and allowing lawlessness to take root including flouting of traffic rules by matatus and boda bodas.
The inspectorate is the enforcement wing of the county government and is charged with maintaining law and order in the city including arresting those who flout by-laws.
Other officers sacked include Jairus Gekonge, who was in charge of all inspectorate officers deployed in the Central Business District (CBD), and Peter Mwatu, who is in charge of inspectorate vehicles used in the CBD.
Others are Mr Ndambuki Muteti, a sergeant, Tom Omollo, head of operations in Starehe Division and James Muhindi, a superintendent.
On Tuesday, business owners in the city centre cancelled a planned demonstration to City Hall to protest the rise of street vendors in prime business areas.
City askaris also embarked in an operation to remove hawkers from the city centre, confiscating waresof those who refused to voluntarily relocate to markets designated for them.
Activist Joseph Gitonga of the Uzalendo group however stated that the county had only temporarily removed the hawkers to diffuse the planned demonstration.
“Wait and see, these are just sideshows. By tomorrow the hawkers will be back in the streets,” said Gitonga.
Speaking at a media briefing, County Secretary Dr Rober Ayisi said that the move to sack the officials and remove the hawkers was a managerial decision after the menace became unbearable.
He also blamed the use of fake permits that are issued by City Hall’s digital platform.
“We have cancelled the online payment of business permit because the traders are using it to get illegal licenses in the city. Hawking is illegal and we will not cordon it,”said Dr Ayisi.
He added that they have reshuffled the Inspectorate Departments and given them targets in designated streets to deal with hawkers, street children, bodabodas, matatu and illegal dumping.
