Auctioneers are set to gather in Kisumu on Friday for their annual training to earn points needed for their licensing.
They will also brainstorm on how to streamline the sector.
National Association of Kenyan Auctioneers president Maurice Osundwa said the gathering will reflect on the happenings around their work and the challenges they are facing.
Osundwa decried what he termed a hostile work environment for auctioneers due to misconception about their work.
This makes the Kisumu meeting urgent to consider what areas of law review can be mooted to ensure auctioneers work safely and seamlessly, he said in an interview with the Star.
Auctioneers have in recent times become major subjects of public discourse as they place extensive ads on newspapers, putting properties on auction due to the economic down turn most companies and families are experiencing.
Osundwa said auctioneers have been mistaken for dispossessing people while they are just doing their jobs as per the law.
“Auctioneers are like police officers who execute the orders of the court. It not our decision but that which has been arrived at as per the law and all parties given fair hearing,” he said.
Osundwa said auctioneers are closely regulated by the Auctioneers Act.
He also said they operate as officers of the court, enforcing the decisions of the Judiciary regarding execution of decision and detachment of properties.
“We respect court orders. Even if the decision has been made against a party and another order stopping the process is obtained, we stop it, even as we get into verifying the authenticity of the orders. Upholding court orders is our first duty.”
“The public must know that auctioneers are not arbitrary nor malicious. When we arrive at your house or premise, the process does not happen immediately but we give a proclamation. This is a notice of the process,” said the official.
Osundwa said auctioneers will also consider legal reforms in the sector to make it responsive to current realities and better serve the public.
