Have you ever been walking on Tom Mboya Street and you suddenly see hawkers fold their wares and take off? Ever wondered how they sense the presence of the city council askaris? We sought to find out.
About 12,000 hawkers operate in Nairobi streets every day. They do not pay for any official licence, denying the county more than Sh200 million revenue annually.
A group of young men have taken advantage of this and are mincing hundreds of thousands of shillings every day from the hawkers.
ROUGH AND RUTHLESS
The men keep watch of city askaris' position from strategic points on streets where hawkers operate from, and alert the hawkers if they spot the askaris.
They are mostly on Tom Mboya Street, Moi Avenue, Ronald Ngala Street and River Road. The men, who are said to be rough and ruthless, collect Sh100 from each hawker. "They demand Sh100 from all of us, not caring what you are selling, whether clothes or vegetables," said one hawker, who declined to be named for fear of being victimised.
If one fails to pay maybe because they haven't made any sales for the day, the men take away their stock, which they later sell to recover the money. They mostly collect the cash in the cover of darkness, when city askaris have retired for the day and the streets are a beehive of activities, with hawkers occupying any available space.
For two nights, we position ourselves on different streets, befriending hawkers, and those I talked to allowed me to join them and act as one. It's 8pm, Tom Mboya Street is busy. Hawkers have occupied all the footpaths, calling out and enticing passersby with their wares. The place is congested, dirty, noisy and seemingly unsafe.
We are selling ladies' tops, a customer pays out with a Sh1,000 note and my host, let's call her Jane*, has to go looking for change.
While away, the 'tax collectors' got to our space. They are three men all wearing caps and seemingly drunk.
One of them stretches his hand towards me and shouts, "Leta (Bring)." I ask what. Now irritated, he bends down, takes away five tops and proceeds to the next seller who, without hesitating, digs into her pocket and gives away Sh100.
Jane comes back a few minutes later and, after giving back the change, I tell her what has transpired. She immediately follows the tax collectors, hands them the money and gets back her tops.
"This is what happens on a daily basis," Jane said. "They have been doing this for the longest time and there is nowhere to turn to since the county askaris are our enemies," she added.
Hawkers say they prefer paying the men instead of losing what they are selling. "You see if they pick your stock they will go sell it at a throwaway price and you cannot compare the goods with the Sh100 they collect," Jane said. New hawkers get the most frustrations and are sometimes chased from the streets if they refuse to pay for more than twice.
However, some hawkers have decided to stand their ground and not pay the men. "Hawa ni Mungiki (they are Mungiki people), I cannot give them any money since I don't sell from the streets during the day when the city askaris need to be watched. I have a shop but I have to come to the streets at night because there is more business," said another hawker, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said they collect money from 'stupid' people.
While they pay the Sh100, the hawkers are usually on their own if they happen to get arrested by the city askaris, who again are described as being ruthless and annoying. "This city is run by hooligans. During the day we have the askaris and at night we have the Mungiki," a hawker said.
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A part of hawkers who have invaded the CBD sell their wares along Tom Mboya Steet in Nairobi. Photo/Jack Owuor
CONFISCATED AND THROWN
We recently witnessed an incident where the askaris carried away wares and threw fruits and vegetables hawkers were selling on the road. "How do they do all these?" asked Mercy Kioko, who was passing by. I was holding my phone and one of the askaris suspected I was taking pictures, he walked to me and threatened to 'remove my teeth'.
"Wewe mjinga, kwa nini unatupiga picha? Nitakungo'a hizo meno zako saa hii (You fool, why are you taking our photos? I'll yank your teeth out now)," he threatened, before walking away with wares.
Hawkers warned me against confrontation with the askaris, terming them inhumane and unreasonable. "Don't argue with those people, they are untouchable," one said.
When contacted, Nairobi Trade executive Anna Othoro said she is not aware of such cartels since no hawker has made an official complaint.
"As of now, I don't know how to deal with it. I wish the hawkers would come to me directly and file a complaint," she said.
However, Othoro noted that the hawkers are in the streets illegally and accused Kenyans of tolerating them. "I wish Nairobi people would be disciplined and start going to shops in the designated markets. That's the only way we can keep the hawkers off the streets," she said.
Othoro had recently said politics and corruption have frustrated the county’s efforts to remove hawkers from the city centre. “We will not lose the war. We will fight until the city is cleared,” she said during an interview.
In July last year, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero sacked Inspectorate Department director Hillary Wambugu over the hawking menace and the collapse of order to remove hawkers from the city centre.
Wambugu was among six senior officers fired for corruption and allowing lawlessness to take root in the CBD.
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. Kidero said it is annoying that his officers continue demanding bribes from Nairobians.
