Government officers accosted by fierce slum vendors
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| Thika OCPD Erastus Muthamia trying to calm down the irate youth from Kiandutu shortly before they got rowdy and started pelting stones at the officers, forcing them to prematurely end their meeting. |
The team, which included officers
from the Kenya Highway Authority (KENHA), Information Officers, Roads
and planning officers and Security officers, had visited the peripheries of the sprawling slums following
the encroachment of the Thika-Garrisa highway road reserve by timber vendors.
Attempts by the DCC to address the rowdy youths who
were armed with pangas and crowbars were futile as the youths demanded to be addressed
by their MCA Kennedy Mwangi (KENTAMS) whom they claimed had allocated them the
road reserve to construct structures to do business. They vowied that no amount of
force would push them out of the site.
Sensing the hostility the DCC and his team fled the scene, leaving behind the area chief and some government officers at the mercy of the
unruly youth who started pelting government vehicles with stones. The officers later jumped into their vehicles and followed suit with the angry mob in hot pursuit.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt during the ugly incident
The youths had earlier told Thika Town Today that officers from the national government were pushing them out of business adding that the road reserve
was a "no man’s land" and should be allowed to operate from the place to fend
for their families.
Contacted for comment area Kiambu County Secretary
Fredrick Kitema pointed out that the Multi-Agency decision to clear all the
road reserves of any encroachment still stood and nobody would be allowed to put
up any structure along any highway.
He explained that after the Naivasha accident that
claimed the lives of over 50 people after a track carrying explosives lost
control and crashed into on-coming vehicles, a decision was arrived at that all highways be cleared off any encroachment and structures.
“We will not
allow any constructions on the road reserves along the highways. Any politician allocating spaces to vendors along dangerous sections should look for an
alternative places to take them,” said Kitema.
He explained that the Kiambu County government had
spent millions of shillings to construct walkways along all the major roads
within the County and encroachers will not be allowed to put up structures that
will endanger the safety of pedestrians
However, the MCA seemed to be reading from a
different script as he confirmed to have allowed the vendors to construct their
structures along the said road reserve saying that his office has already set
aside money to construct a fence around Garissa Road Primary School that borders the
controversial reserve to ensure that the vendors activities does not interfere
with smooth operations of the school.
He claimed to have already consulted senior government
officers in the County Government and had been given the go ahead to
allocate these vendors the road reserve.
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