EFFECTS OF ONGOING KIOSKS DEMOLITIONS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

Demolished Kiosks at Jonsaga-Huruma

Having worked at GSU Headquarters, I had an opportunity to see what was once called Waihenya /Allsops shopping center transform from a fairly clean shopping center to an eyesore. This happened after the construction of Thika Super Highway where the old center was replaced by shanties that housed food kiosks, wines and spirits shops and mobile money transfer shops among other small businesses. Sadly, this place had poor drainage, no reliable water and sanitary facilities and I always wished that cholera outbreak should not strike as close to whole GSU fraternity could have been affected if not wiped out not forgetting touts and drivers who frequented the place. 

Due to the strategic location of this center, boiled maize, eggs, smokies and sausage vendors among other business men and women invaded pedestrian paths, any available space and all was chaos. This happened under the watch of relevant government agencies whose mandate is to ensure that this does not happen. The reality is that cash changed hands and county government officials used to receive the same in the name of allowing these folks set shop. 

Food Kiosk in Portland Oregon

Earlier this year, partial completion of the Outering road resulted to demolition of the kiosks and shanties that led to closure of all the small businesses. To me this was a plus since I lived in fear of disease out break and also pain of seeing GSU officers languish in wine and spirits shops, pool table games and a good number of them lose their families to ladies who lay in wait just to fleece off these officers the little they were left with in their pay slips. 

Little did I know that this trend would later be replicated in Kasarani, Mutindwa, Karen shopping center and other areas in the City.  Whereas we must not allow mushrooming of shanties, setting up of businesses along the road without care for safety, occupation of pedestrian walks and bicycle lanes by hawkers in our cities in the name of creating employment, we must not ignore the bigger picture.

Individuals who used to run these small businesses must be taken care of since there is a market that they serve and this goes a long way towards making sure that such folks are able to put food on their tables, pay their bills and also grow our economy. Ignoring their plight is suicidal and it means that petty crime will be on the rise, families will breakdown and even suppliers of these folks will record reduced sales in the long run. Chamas and banks will also be on the losing end as loan default rates will be on the rise. 

Hawker selling handbags in New York

I once traveled to Portland-Oregon and I noted that food kiosks are not banned there but are serviced with power connection, gas, clean water and relevant government agencies ensure that they pose no health risks to those who frequent them. Over the lunch hour, business executives and other folks flock these kiosks for their favorite delicacies and at the end of the day, people are able to earn a living. A quick at New York City reveals that we have hawkers in the streets, bicycle boda bodas and other small businesses not forgetting beggars just like we have in Kenya. What I noted I that they are regulated and there is order to the benefit of all. 

Therefore, we must stop criminalizing poverty in Kenya. We must work towards creating solutions to ensure that anyone willing to make an honest living by running a small business is able to do so, within the law, in a secure and safe environment and above all in a regulated way. Whereas it may not be an easy task, hawkers can be registered and issued with identification numbers/licenses so as to tame ill filtration by thugs and other economic saboteurs who have no care for our country. Certain areas can be designated to sell certain goods for order too. 

Boda boda rider in New York

As a long term measure, we must mercilessly go after all who grabbed public market spaces and initiate public private partnerships to develop such markets and in return give our people space to earn a living without causing them unnecessary trauma.

County government officers, National government officers who sell roadside spaces to cartels who in return let or re sell these spaces to Kenyans who end up losing their structures to demolition squads must be brought to account lest impunity continues.

Certain streets can be set aside within the CBD to allow hawkers sell their wares in an organized and civilized way without subjecting them to cruel county government officers who have in the past been accused of Killing, Maiming, extorting and even confiscating wares just for cash and not to bring sanctity in our cities. 

Whereas market spaces may not be enough, the government can also undertake compulsory acquisition of land where possible or buy off land from individuals for the sake of creating more space for small business men.

The above suggested solutions may not be exhaustive but I honestly think that the current demolitions without providing alternatives will boomerang on us and the long term effect may take us ages to sort them out. 

Meanwhile, the demolitions continue.

POLICE CORRUPTION: A BUMPY RIDE TO MERU AND BACK WITH MY OLD RETIRED MAN AND SMALL BRO.

Thoronjo is a childhood buddy. We grew up together and shared our youth hood escapades, to date he remains a man that I cherish. I am grateful that I had the honor of accompanying him to Katheri Village in Meru County to pay bride price. His family is special to our family and above all, I remain grateful that he makes sure that though I am not a ‘suits’ man, I am able to put on a relatively fine one as he faithfully helps me choose what to put on and a day with him in Eastleigh has always left my fairly small wardrobe smiling.

Thanks to this great day, I had a life time opportunity to share a ride with my dad and small bro who drove us from Nairobi to Meru and back, may God bless the young man. With our old man sitting at the front of my brothers Toyota 91, I had the honor of sitting at the back all alone. This gave us hours of engaging in a conversation that we have never had in life. From how he Intends to spend his retirement life, to where he will build his retirement home….(now that he does not want to go back to the village), the old man gave us an opportunity to share that which we missed all through our life.

To me, this was a very special occasion remembering that I once wrote this passionate appeal to him https://kaberemartin.blogspot.com/search?q=tell+me+that+you+love+me as a 'means of healing'.
Writing helps me offload baggage and gives me strength to face life once more when I fell like I have taken in too much . I have however restrained myself from publishing, meaning that my desktop has unpublished memoirs of what my last three years in life and more so in my work place have been like. 

Our precious conversation was however not to be going by what was happening on our roads on that day. I love my Job and I forever remain grateful to the  Police service that I joined almost 14 years ago because it gave me and continues to give me the opportunity to be the best out of myself. 

At a young age, the Police service gave me an opportunity to earn a fairly decent and honest living, a life time opportunity to achieve my childhood dream of joining the university and above all exceeding what I thought was possible as I was not only able to  do that but also do a post graduate diploma and an MBA in six years time, all this self sponsored to the last penny. That for me is all I wanted in my early life and I have it. Thanks to the Police service my family has  an opportunity to access a comprehensive medical cover procured to us by the tax payers through GOK, we also have an opportunity to live in one of the most secure environments, with a free house, free water, free electricity and one of the most diverse neighbors as all Kenya is in  the Police Service. The Service has taken me to many counties within Kenya on assignment, Tanzania in East Africa and even outside Africa to eight different states in the United States of America. Am almost sure that this would not have been possible if I never joined the police force back then. 

Thanks to the great service, I have also have an opportunity to work with some of the most amazing career police men and women and also some who have left me with so many unanswered questions in life. The past 14 years have been the most fulfilling ones in my life.

However, Saturday, 01/09/2018 was a fairly tough day for me…

My old man had this opportunity to bring this ugly side of the place I have called home for 14 years now-The Police service. He poured his heart out and I had the privilege of listening to him in one of the most candid conversations we have ever had since I was born. My younger bro, who also has had his fair share of terrible experiences in the hands of my colleagues, had a whole day of speaking his heart. For him, I have been part of this for I have quite often attempted to bail him out of police cells for some of the most stupid things I have ever heard and some of which our system exploits to date to cause misery in the lives of Kenyans but with the whole intention of extorting money from peace loving, jobless, poor and helpless young men and women.

Honestly speaking, what I am sharing here, has the potential of causing me misery in my workplace as truth and objectivity is rarely appreciated, but I choose what is fair to me; to write down and heal, and this time round share. I feel slightly tormented and  harassed all because my whole heart is in the Police service and fair enough, I have always done all I can do to make the Police service a better one than I found it, though a drop in the ocean. 

It all started as we drove along the Thika super highway when we encountered a battery of traffic Police officers who were indiscriminately stopping vehicles in the middle of the highway, some doing it so dangerously with zero care for motorists safety but with one visible motive that even a blind man could see, picking bribes. With that level of boldness, with zero care for who was seeing them and not, my old man threw the first jab. Why do you guys do this? Don’t you care for your country? Why is there even no fear that one can be caught? The questions kept coming my way but had to interrupt him.

I categorically told him that I have never taken a bribe. Not that I am a saint and that I am pointing fingers but that it! I chose the path that is least taken because I know that God gave me this job when opportunities to join the force back then were so rare and wants me to glorify Him with all I do in here and thanks to His grace, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the promise but I pray that I will win the race in the fullness of time.

The old man narrated to me his ordeal along Jogoo road where he used to live in the government quarters. He told me of matatus with modified exhaust systems, loud music and flickering lights that used to cause them sleepless nights, the ever unruly Kayole bound matatus and Embasava matatus where one  hit my mum and Makongeni Traffic  base officer who was assigned the case took us round and round till we gave up, the lives that have been lost on this road due to impunity and dreams that have been shattered as we walk in blue uniforms and white caps in the name of enforcing traffic law but there is nothing to smile about on our roads, at least according to him. He told me of this slightly huge brown lady cop who reigns terror along Jogoo road, who was once almost caught by EACC officers but escaped and still rules the road despite her case having being highlighted severally in the media. He also spoke of how his vehicle was hit by a drunk motorist who Buruburu cops let go without even charging him from drunk driving leaving mzee with the nightmare of chasing an insurance company where  he gave up along the way only to repair his car at his own cost. The drunk motorist purchased his way out of a corrupt system and uckily enough, I had a firsthand experience of the Makongeni case and the Buruburu one. 

My brother Interrupted mzee with his ordeal in the hands of Athi River Traffic cops. He narrated how one cop swore that if my brother was set free without paying un receipted three thousand shillings for a traffic offense, then he would doubt whether he was fully circumcised. He went further to share how lorries and pickups that he and some of his friends run are forced out of business because of the shameless extortion cartels that rule our roads in the name of traffic law enforcement, how boda boda guys and vehicle owners that are familiar to him have been forced to pay ‘releasing fees’ for their cycles and vehicles even after going through a court system that can be described as a journey to hell and back. He had more on how we are quick to tow vehicles that can be pushed from the road to avoid obstruction only to pay exorbitant towing fees that he believes that we usually have a fair share of.

Both mzee and the young man had more and more to share now that every road block that we passed through clearly exhibited zero signs of law enforcement but a clear  shameless corrupt enterprise that cares no more of safety on our roads but that has a desire to make more and more, drive nice vehicles, buy expensive beer , build houses that we rarely enjoy living in. Honestly speaking, the two gave me more personal encounters in the hand of traffic and regular cops and even those of their friends and all I can say is that I felt their misery and pain too.

I also let them know that even we officers suffer from such impunity. I reminded them of the day I was hit by a Githurai bound bus that was on th wrong and a traffic cop just denied me justice after a chit chat with the bus crew and informed them that on Monday 3/09/2018, I had a case at Milimani Law courts to face another monster who was a creation of our system. Here is a link to what he does. https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Con-men-run--Safaricom--racket-under-the-nose-of-police/1056-3987292-sn4qkuz/index.html

This is my story and that of others as captured by Capital News. https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2018/01/wary-city-racketeers-posing-like-promoters/ 

After all is said and done I chose to speak my heart rather than do a mere PR exercise now that these two are “harmless to me.” I know in the Police service we have law abiding cops but a good number of us have serious integrity issues that we continue to deny with all manner of justifications. On matters traffic law that I have a passion for, I am always looking forward to the return of the Michuki laws that we dumped ages ago! I always advocate for compliance but again even the most compliant can never enjoy the fruits of compliance in such a system hence bribing takes first precedence. 

Two, there is this funny line of thought that ‘POLICE ARE CORRUPT BECAUSE WE COME FROM A CORRUPT SOCIETY’ which I personally do not subscribe to. My two cents have always been- The society has never been to Kenya Police College- Kiganjo, GSU training school and Administration Police training college where part of training is usually called ‘kutoa uraia’ where the ‘society is corrupt’ element should then have been removed. The society though can enforce citizen arrest has not been entrusted with law enforcement resources to a tune of billions and has never taken oath of office, to remain true to what is envisioned in every progressive piece of legislation that exists in Kenya. The society is helpless, is always at the mercy of law enforcers who can trump up charges, detain past 24 hrs, charge one for nonexistent offenses and in stupid times we have been accused of ‘planting bhangi’ in pockets and vehicles just to charge the occupants for pocessing the same whereas the reality is that some have never even seen how marijuana looks like. We have officers whose unlawful actions have led to job losses, death of individuals, careers, shattered dreams and above all,  number one slot in corruption perception index. The only thing is that traffic cops are more visible and bold, the beat/station cops are no better!

There is more and more that I shared with these great men but to sum it up, I just asked them questions which were inspired by what the president said at Athi river when he led government officials in an exercise where contraband goods were destroyed: do you think that senior police officers do not know what we the juniors do on our roads, stations, posts, patrol bases etc day in day out? Are they any better now that they are not as visible as the foot soldiers? Aren’t they the same folks who deploy us to these places and supervise us as we do all this?, don’t they drive on the same roads and see what we were seeing? Are they not in the same police stations where hundreds of young men are locked up for loitering and failing to give a good account of themselves only to be released at Ksh 1,000 fee that is never receipted?

I humbly requested them not to give me answers to these ‘stupid’ questions, took a deep breath and went mute!