Tezo open-air market traders are a bitter lot after the police on Monday blocked them from accessing the facility as part of the government's war against coronavirus.
The market, which is in Kilifi county, is frequented by more than 3,000 traders from as far as Kwale, Mombasa and Tana River. It operates on Mondays.
The police ensured that people do not crowd facility.
The traders accused the government of failing to take precautionary measures when Covid-19 was reported in China and other countries.
“The government is to blame for the mess we are in. It failed to secure our borders and allowed everyone to enter from all parts of the world, exposing us to the virus. Now the government wants us to stay at home yet we have families to take care of. I have not sold anything today,” Elvis Kahindi said.
Mary Wangoi is from Kilifi town but Tezo is her business destination on Mondays.
“I do not doubt that there is corona but I am a mother and I am trying to fend for my children. The government should give us protective gear to enable us to carry on with our businesses instead of banning us from our source of livelihood," Wangoi complained.
Like her colleagues, she called on the government to provide traders with sanitisers and masks "because with or without corona we must eat".
She accused the government of applying double standards by allowing PSV vehicles to conduct business without any restrictions.
“Matatus and buses are the ones that need to be controlled because they carry passengers from one destination to the other. These passengers can easily spread the virus. Why are police only targeting us?” she asked.
According to Yvone Aketch from Mombasa, the government is missing the point by blocking traders from doing business.
“The government should control the virus but not traders. If we do not do business, will the government bring food on our table?” Aketch asked.
The traders said they had loans to pay and feared that their creditors might confiscate their properties and sell them to recover the money.
“I have a daughter who is schooling in Kakamega and she is waiting for me to send her fare to come home but I have nothing because I have not sold anything,” Aketch said.
Siad Abdullahi runs a wholesale shop at Tezo. The disruption has greatly affected his sales.
“Every Monday I make sales of over Sh100,000 but today my sales are less than Sh3,000. Bread and other perishable goods are going bad because all my customers have been blocked from the market," he lamented.
