10,000 traders in limbo as Kisumu’s Kibuye Market closed

The trader says on a normal day; she often makes at least Sh5000 from selling fish that is supplied from lake victories.

This, however, she says will not be the case today following the indefinite closure of the open air market over sanitation concerns.

On Friday evening, the Kisumu City Manager Mr Abala Wanga ordered immediate closure of the market over sanitation concerns until further notice.

When she left her stall on Friday evening, Ms Anyango had hoped to report back to her work station earlier the following morning to sell the remaining fish and also receive a fresh order from her supplier.

This, however, was not to be, the fish monger says she was met at the facility’s entrance by people who ordered her to pick her goods and find an alternative selling spot.

She says that while the individuals did not identify themselves, she was advised that the market was dirty and a threat to sanitation. 

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“I just arrived at my stall, a number of traders are as confused as I am. We do not know where to go,” says a teary Ms Anyango.

Her biggest fear, she says, is the fact that her goods are perishable and could go bad at any time when not sold.

She further shared her frustrations saying her suppliers who got wind of news on the market closure have also temporarily halted fish supply due to fear that they may suffer losses.

“I have not sold anything since this morning, I have been seated here hoping that a miracle will happen. This is the only place my customers are used to finding me,” says the trader.

Ms Anyango is among thousands of traders who have been left stranded following the order issued by the city manager last evening.

The traders who vowed not to leave the amenity say the market closure is not as result of poor sanitation but leadership wrangles within the market.

Also affected is Ms Emily Anyango, a hairdresser. 

Ms Anyango says the directive has paralysed most of the businesses within the amenity including hers.

The hairdresser says earlier today, they were ordered by the City management to move to the Uhuru Business Park, a place she says cannot sustain all the traders.

“I have not engaged any clients since morning. Our customers are being turned away at the market entrance,” says Ms Anyango.

Ms Anyango, the sole provider of her family says on a normal day, she would make at least Sh3000 from her hair dressing business.

She further shared that to relocate to the Uhuru Business Park, she is required to pay Sh10,000 rent fee for a single stall, an amount she can barely afford.

“I also need electricity and water supply, all that I cannot afford now. The schools are opening next week, yet our businesses are paralyzed, how are we supposed to support our children’s education,” she said.

In a public notice issued on Friday evening, Mr Wanga said the health department raised concerns over sanitation in the market which he said posed a serious threat to the health of the traders.

He said the trading facility was also likely to escalate cases of cholera which have been reported in different parts of the city.

He says the public health department identified a number of sanitation threats in the market including lack of clean and safe water supply, improper solid waste management, unsanitary ablution and toilets, open and unsafe cooking facilities and blocked drainage system.

“These conditions pose an imminent risk to public health especially during the rainy season when waterborne disease transmission is heightened,” said Mr Wanga.

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“To this effect and pursuant to section 117 of the public health Act Cap 242 and 254 and regulations there under, the public health department has directed the immediate cessation of all operations at Kibuye market until further notice," he added.

Mr Wanga further said that the order shall remain in force until the market is assured of supply of adequate clean water, design and implementation of solid waste management system.

He says that to operationalize, the market management must rehabilitate and regularize maintenance of toilets and sanitation facilities, unblock drainages and meet the public health standards.

“Further, we wish to inform the general public and traders that the market day to Kibuye market will be moved to the Uhuru Business Park,” said Mr Wanga.

Meanwhile, the traders have dismissed the poor sanitation claims by the city manager saying the market closure is a result of leadership wrangles within the market.

Mr Jackson Okuta, a trader within the market, said the facility was well taken care of until the beginning of the leadership wrangles last year.

He says previously, the market chairlady would ensure the market is cleaned using the finances derived from the market toilets.

The waste would then be disposed of at the public waste collection point where the county workers would collect and dispose of them off.

Market wrangles

“Since the wrangles began, the county suspended emptying the garbage bins as it had done before leading to spill over of waste,” said Mr Okuta who said that the act has been unfair to the traders who have been paying revenue to the county since the new market was launched three years ago.

The Kibuye Market chairlady Judith Adhiambo Matengo, also popularly known as Nyaramba, said the facility hosts around 10,000 traders with 70 per cent of the occupants being women.

She said the market wrangles have been a major challenge for months and has resulted top deaths and even injuries.

Ms Adhiambo says the wrangles are due to allocation of market containers with some corrupt market cartel’s seeking to take control of the facility and market politics.

“A number of traders are going to suffer major losses, especially those selling perishable goods. The traders have been asked to occupy the Uhuru business park which can barely accommodate all the traders,” she said.

She added “to secure a space at the alternative trading point, the traders are also asked to part with a good amount of money. A number of women do not have the money and some have either closed businesses or been sold by the roads which exposes them to accidents,” she says.

The chairlady also claimed that her life is in danger due to the threats she has been receiving from unknown people.

She has now appealed to the relevant authorities and the national government to intervene in the market wrangles.

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