This archive report was first published on 30 July 2019.
On Tuesday, hundreds of traders at Mama Ngina Drive in Mombasa County staged a demonstration against the demolition of their sheds by the county authorities. The traders, who were protesting the demolition of their sheds, forced their way into the highly guarded Uhuru Na Kazi building, which houses government offices, to seek an audience with the county commissioner.
County Commissioner Evans Achoki listened to the traders' representatives but warned them that they would not be allowed to disrupt business and renovation works in Mama Ngina Drive. He said, 'There is work ongoing at Mama Ngina drive, they (traders) should pave way for work to be accomplished.'
However, the traders claimed that the county askaris descended on their businesses at around 12 am, demolished their sheds, and carted away foodstuff and furniture. They alleged that the officials were armed with axes and other crude weapons and threatened them when they tried to intervene.
The traders, who are now counting losses worth thousands of shillings, want the government to compensate them. The county secretary has urged the affected traders to engage the county government for a rigorous process to determine if there were any goods carted away by the officials.
It is worth noting that President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the construction of a modern waterfront project at Mama Ngina Drive at a cost of Sh460 million.
