• Maina who sells socks had only Sh20, allegedly failed to raise a bribe of Sh100 and in the process was ‘attacked’ by the inspectorate officers and lost his teeth in the scuffle.
• Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs committee has been tasked to take action on City Hal and NMS officers who committed the dreadful action to the said hawker.
Image: FILE
Nairobi’s Inspectorate Department has been on the spot over rogue officers who manhandle hawkers with brutality.
This comes a few days after a male hawker in the Central Business District (CBD) lost all his teeth in the hand of an inspectorate office-kanjo after allegedly being hit with a metal rod while handcuffed.
Nairobi County Assembly Deputy Majority Whip Waithera Chege expressed concerns that operations carried out by inspectorate officers are slowly returning to the dark days of the city council of harassment, brutality, and arbitrary arrests.
“Hon Speaker, a few days ago, a hawker lost all his teeth after he was allegedly handcuffed and brutally whipped with a metal rod by the county askaris before they exited the scene in a county registered vehicle. In the modern civilized society we are in, such heinous actions by government officers should not be entertained,” she said.
As a result, pressure has now been put on the Nairobi Metropolitan Service and City Hall to rein on rogue city inspectorate officers manhandling hawkers in the city.
The Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs committee has been tasked to take action on City Hal and NMS officers who committed the dreadful action to the said hawker.
The committee should inquire on measures being taken by both administrations to end the inhuman mishandling of hawkers and the public in general by the officers.’
This is in addition to the committee investigating into the conduct of the officer-involved and whether any action was taken against him and report on the same.
“I urge this assembly to do whatever is necessary within the mandated powers to protect Nairobi residents against these rogue inspectorate officers,” Waithera added.
It is alleged that early last week, a hawker identified as Anthony Maina fell in the hands of rogue ‘kanjos’ during their normal operations to keep them from selling their products in the CBD.
Maina who sells socks had only Sh20 failed to raise a bribe of Sh100 and in the process was ‘attacked’ by the inspectorate officers and lost his teeth in the scuffle.
He was admitted to Mama Lucy Hospital where he is currently receiving treatment.
Hawkers in the City Centre and Inspectorate Officers have over the years been involved in cat and mouse chase games.
City inspectorate officers are charged with maintaining law and order by enforcing Nairobi City by-laws.
For the longest time, City Hall has been against the hawkers who place their products on the roadsides, along pedestrian footpaths, blocking business stalls from customers and pedestrians from walking freely.
The kanjos have had several operations in the CBD where they attempt to arrest the hawkers.
When one gets arrested by the inspectorate officers, they are normally put in the famous "kanjo van' which has little ventilation with wire-meshed protected windows.
However, due to resistance by hawkers, the officers tend to use excessive force and rods to beat the traders.
Deputy majority whip mentioned similar cases back in 2014 where another hawker almost lost his eyesight at the hands of ruthless county askaris and in 2018 when Yakub Rashid lost his teeth in a similar incident.
In a bid to reform the inspectorate department, at least 1,000 officers are undergoing a four-month transformational training.
The training at Kiganjo Police Training College and Administration Police Training College, Embakasi, started in June and will be administered by the National Police Service (NPS).
Part of the training includes inducting discipline and professionalism to the city-county personnel popularly known as askaris to transform them from the brutal and inhuman face to a friendly enforcement service.