Dozens of kiosks were flattened in Kisii on Friday in what authorities said was bringing sanity to the county.
The demolitions begun on Thursday morning inside the compound of Kanu party premises before more were brought down near Daraja Moja and at St Jude area.
Many of the small scale traders however, protested the demolitions saying they were not notified.
Jared Atancha whose container was demolished said there was no notice, adding that the demolitions were done in disregard of the court order that they had sought.
"Look, this is a valid court order that told us to stay until the matter has been determined. A court order isn't just a paper, it should be respected," he said.
All stationary and computers at his shop were destroyed during the demolitions. He calculated the losses as "staggering".
At Daraja Moja area, Jane Nyaboke told the Star, she woke up early to report to work only to find her eatery destroyed.
Around 20 chicken that were inside the restaurant were smashed by the bulldozer. She also condemned the manner in which the demolitions were done.
"You just don't wake up, go to office and deploy machinery to destroy businesses. These businesses are a livelihood for the hundreds of unemployed youth," she said.
At St Jude area, those affected said they will stage demonstrations to protest the demolitions.
"This is the third time my business has suffered. I had taken a loan from a bank to start it but with all these setbacks, I have lost everything," Thomas Maangi an electronics dealer said.
He asked the county authorities to rethink the orders to demolish businesses at night terming it primitive.
"Countries grow their economy on these hated hustlers, not on the rich who often don't pay taxes," he said.
He said he suffered losses of up to Sh3 million following the demolitions.
Municipal chief Nahashon Ongeri however, defended the demolitions saying the traders were notified to move out.
"Anybody saying they had not received notifications is lying. They were individually served and told to move to designated areas but refused. As a county, we too have a duty to bring sanity in all our urban centres and this is just the start," he said on phone.
-Edited by SKanyara
