Balloting of Uhuru Business Park Market in Kisumu suspended

The balloting of Uhuru Business Park Market Complex in Kisumu was on Friday suspended to allow the hearing and determination of a petition filed at the High Court.

Kisumu Central deputy county commissioner John Cheruiyot told hundreds of traders who had gathered for balloting that the process stands halted over court order.

Cheruiyot, who represented Nyanza regional commissioner Magu Mutindika, said they must obey the court order. 

He said they will continue with the process after the case is concluded.

This saw a section of traders take to the streets of Kisumu to protest against the suspension of the balloting. They demanded to be relocated to the market to continue with their businesses. 

Some traders supported the suspension, saying it will allow county and national government to harmonise the list of beneficiaries.

James Oloo, a trader, said harmonisation of the list will ensure cartels are weeded out to allow genuine traders benefit from stalls allocation.

“The county did well and meant good for us. We support the order as it is purely meant to help the right process to be done,” Oloo said.

Kisumu City manager Abala Wanga on Friday told traders that balloting was halted to allow further consultation on structure and organisation at the market.

He said the market is just a hall without portions which requires proper design to be put in place before traders occupy the market. 

"We have to take traders in a well partitioned and organised market.  They cannot operate as if it is a jungle," Wanga said.

With proper structures and organisation, he said genuine traders will all benefit, thereby blocking out cartels from the market. 

He said some of the affected traders in Akamba and Winmart, amongst others, are missing in the list that had been published by the county commissioner Josephine Ouko. 

"These are issues we want to sort out to ensure no trader is left out. We are looking towards working with the national government to harmonise the list," Wanga said.

The market, he said, had been handed over to the county for its management after signing a lease with the Kenya Railways. 

In the agreement, the county and railways have 60 and 40 per cent in the management of the market respectively.

Currently, Wanga said, the city has received an electricity bill of Sh5 million from the market.

Wanga said that no trader should pay money to be given stalls. He warned cartels to stop hiring people purporting to be traders to malign Governor Anyang' Nyong’o's administration.

“Some of those protesting are not even genuine traders. We must stop politicising the market issue,” he added.

"We are aware some cartels have been collecting money from traders purporting to be allocating stalls. Such must stop."

Wanga said they are meeting with representatives of traders to discuss the proper resettlement plan as per the design and organisation.

He said the county does not oppose the balloting but wants the process to be done above board. 

"We want President Uhuru Kenyatta to commission the market when traders have occupied it in an organised fashion, and not like a jungle," Wanga said. 

On Thursday, the High Court in Kisumu issued an order halting the balloting.

Kisumu government moved to court seeking to stop the exercise. Judge Fred Ochieng directed that the status quo be maintained.

In effect, he said the proposed balloting and setting up of the management board shall not be undertaken as scheduled.

The matter will be mentioned on November 17, 2021.

In the application filed at the Kisumu High Court on Thursday, Ouko, Ministry of Interior and Attorney General are listed as respondents.

Kenya Railways Corporation and Council of Governors are also listed as interested parties.

Mutindika on Thursday said that the balloting will go on with or without court order.

He said the market was built by the national government under the directive of President Kenyatta.

"Those court orders are not relevant to us. Are they the ones who built the market? There's no money they spent in that market. Let them take those court orders somewhere else?" Mutindika said.

He said the county did not give any land for the construction. He added that the county should stop disturbing people. "Let them go and complete their market (Kibuye)," he said. 

The county wants the planned balloting to be postponed to allow consultation between the county and national governments on allocation of the stalls at the market.

The market was built by the national government to accommodate traders who were evicted to allow for the refurbishment of the Sh3 billion Kisumu Port.

Some Kisumu MCAs on Thursday demanded the postponement of the planned balloting for Uhuru Business Park to allow further consultation.

Market Milimani MCA Seth Ochieng alias Adui and his Railways counterpart David Arao urged the national government to postpone balloting to allow for consultation.

They said the county and national government needs to consult and agree on the allocation of spaces to affected traders for inclusivity.

The MCAs blamed the national government administrators of organising the balloting without engaging Nyong’o and Wanga.

“Balloting has been organised without the involvement of the office of the governor and city manager,” Ochieng said.

He added that consultations among the two levels of government were crucial to forestall the fallout from the traders.

“We want Nyong’o and Wanga to be involved in the process and harmonise the list of traders,” the MCA said.

Ochieng said the market had been handed over to the county and anything concerning the said market should originate from the devolved unit.

“This is ridiculous. Markets are devolved and already it is in the custody of the city. Why are they again being bypassed by the national government administrators,” he said.

Ochieng said that, as leaders, they support the resettlement of the traders but the two governments must work as a team for a smooth transition.

The county leadership, he said, is not opposed to balloting but they want Nyong’o and Wanga to be involved in the process and harmonise the list of traders.

Arao, whose ward is hosting the market, reiterated the need to clean the list of beneficiaries in consultation with the county leadership to forestall any backlash.

He said the list containing the names of the traders is not complete, noting that many traders who were affected by the demolitions are inauspiciously missing in the lists.

“The list must be cleaned. We want genuine traders who were affected by the demolitions,” Arao said.

The county was expected to build stalls in the market but that has not been done, with Arao questioning the hurry to take traders into the market.

“How will they trade in an open hall? Can’t the county be allowed to fulfil its obligation before traders can be allowed in?” Arao said.

(edited by Amol Awuor)