Thika town hawkers have promised to support president Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election by mobilizing all businesspersons to shut their businesses on 17th October 2017 when Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)announced as the rerun date following nullification of August 8 presidential elections by Supreme Court judges.
Led by their chairman Duncan Karuku Mwangi, the hawkers who exonerated themselves from a group of what they termed as ‘amnesty’ hawkers who moved round in Thika town on Monday afternoon chanting ‘No hawking no Uhuru’ slogans said that president Uhuru had created a conducive environment for all levels of business.
The hawkers who detached themselves from the rioters said they knew where their votes were cast on 8th of August promising to wake up even earlier to re-elect Uhuru. They said that they would not be moved by Supreme Court ruling maintaining that their votes were ready.
‘We are behind president Uhuru and his deputy Ruto on his re-election; our votes are ready awaiting the big day to send Raila back to Mbondo. Those who were protesting tarnishing the name of Uhuru are the imported hawkers from Nairobi and Murang’a counties. Uhuru has bettered our environment as hawkers and we will mobilize all businesspersons to wake up early on 17th October and vote for Uhuru again,’ said Zablon Omollo, a hawker who unsuccessfully vied for Thika Township ward MCA seat on a Jubilee ticket.
The hawkers attributed the Monday morning demo to a hive orchestrated by Hospital Ward MCA Morris Mburu as a show of his political muscles to Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu who they said had peacefully pre-arranged hawkers operations in the busy town.
‘The protest was done by hospital ward hawkers who had been incited by their MCA Morris Mburu, why don’t Mburu deal with his people and leave Thika Township ward hawkers to be attended by their MCA. We only know Andrew Kimani as our MCA, our grievances to the governor should only be channeled by Kimani and not Mburu. Waititu had a very good plan of humanly removing hawkers from town to restore sanity before Mburu intervened,’ said Mwangi.
‘Because we are genuine hawkers who have worked for over 10 years here in Thika, we will conform to the law and we are behind Waititu. We are ready to sit down with him again and fast-track a real time, permanent solution to our complaints,’ noted Isaac Kiragu, the hawker’s secretary.
Susan Njeri, a hawker revealed that influx of hawkers in Thika town came into place during the campaign period when the former Kiambu County government regime welcomed hawkers from Nairobi, Machakos and Murang’a counties initiating disorderliness in the busy town.
Earlier on Monday, a group of hawkers said to have originated from Githurai and Murang’a counties protested their evacuation from Thika town by Kiambu government where they had found a business refuge following another demonstration by Thika town hawkers who rioted intrusion by ‘foreign hawkers’.
KIAMBU NEWS CHAT 