Hawking of food banned #kenya

Nkubu sub county public health officer has
banned hawking of food in town. Paul Kimathi
told a public meeting attended by the area MP
Kathuri Murungi that he had made the decision to
prevent an outbreak of disease.
"There are so many people selling food that is
uncovered in the open and it's dangerous to the
consumers' health with risks of cholera and
typhoid," Kimathi said.
He was booed and shouted down by the
vendors who threatened to walk out of the
meeting. Among the foodstuffs slapped with the
ban were peeled fruits, sausages, mutura,
roasted maize & yams and porridge.
"We know they are unhappy with this directive
but that's the law and people have to stick to it
because we have to safeguard the health of
everybody. We are not going to relent until they
adhere", said Kimathi.
He called upon the leaders to get on board the
campaign and look for means to assist the food
vendors to sell their items without endangering
other people's lives by designating them to
specific places which will provide sanitary
services like hand washing and ensuring the food
is not exposed to dirt.
However the food hawkers were displeased with
the directive and called upn the MP and County
Rep Nick Mburugu to intervene and have the
order reviewed so that they are not left jobless.
They complained that the public health was not
fair in effecting the ban because it was their only
source of living and instead the leaders should set
a place for them to sell their stuff instead of
banning the sale.
"We are like refugees in this town because neither
the public health nor the council is giving us
solutions despite our attempts to talk with them
and paying the fees required", said John Muchiiri a
representative of Nkubu Roadside Self help group.
Their ward rep Mburugu cautioned the
departments involved in the exercise against
ambushing the residents without warning or
sensitizing them on any action and laws to avoid
conflict.
"The officers should inform the community on
the reasons they are arresting the people and
make them aware of the rules and regulations
that they should adhere instead of making it
political which makes a simple procedure seem
ugly" said Mburugu