• Markets were closed in April by the county government.
• Raphael Kaimenyi said the markets are their source of living and the closure has made then unable to meet their needs.
Image: ELIAS YAA
Mitumba traders in Kilifi have borne the brunt of the containment measures against Covid-19 even as President Uhuru Kenyatta relaxed some to reopen the economy.
The traders who depend on open-air markets cannot access the markets after the Kilifi government banned all activities in the markets in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.
On Tuesday, the traders protested the move by the Kilifi county government, demanding that reopening of the markets to allow them carry on with their businesses.
Markets were closed in April by the county government. Led by their chairman Raphael Kaimenyi, they said they eke out their living at the markets and the closure has made then unable to meet their needs.
Speaking to the press at Karisa Maitha grounds, Kaimenyi said they had tried to engage both the national and county governments on how to address the matter but in vain.
“We want to be allowed to carry on with our business and we are ready to adhere to any conditions the Ministry of Health will set, provided we are allowed to do business. We are debt-laden and the only source of our livelihood is in the open-air markets,” Kaimenyi said.
Kaimenyi said they had reached out to their colleagues in Mombasa and Taita Taveta who were termed as the potential people to spread coronavirus when going to Kilifi to do business.
“The county government had told us that since the Kilifi markets attract people from other counties there was a great risk of spreading the virus. We engaged the traders and they said they would not be coming to the county but the government is still adamant.”
Mary Wangui, a trader, said she has not paid rent for the last five months and she feared her landlord would throw her out. Wangui said they have been living a miserable life since the closure of the markets.
“Every time we go to the markets we get two or more police Land Cruisers full of police officers who chase us away. They should use these police officers to make sure we adhere to the protocols. We can keep even ten metres social distance,” she said.
Aisha Munga said she depended on the market to pay rent, school fees and loans.
She said the President relaxed the cessation of movement as a way of opening up the economy but that was not happening in Kilifi.
Linet Tsofa urged the county government to consider constructing a market for them so that they can do business.
Edited by Henry Makori