Kibra traders who lost property in Azimio demos ask Raila to keep his word
Traders in Kibra constituency, Nairobi county, whose properties were ravaged by fire during anti-government-led demonstrations on March 27, 2023, have asked Azimio la Umoja One Kenya leader Raila Odinga to fulfill his promise of compensating them.
The traders, led by their chairman Bonface Mutiso, say they are waiting for the iron sheets Mr Odinga promised them.
“Raila Odinga promised us some iron sheets to help us rebuild new business structures but we have not seen them. People are suffering. Some took loans to finance their business,” explained Mutiso.
He noted that they want to know whether the funds to compensate them were released or not.
“We want to know if the funds were released or not. We have tried to get in touch with our lawmakers and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) from Kibra but we have not received any response.”
While meeting church and business leaders on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, Mr Odinga promised to help the traders rebuild their shops.
“We are sorry for traders whose businesses were destroyed recently in Kibra. We understand you suffered a huge loss, and we are ready to help you rebuild by providing construction materials such as mabati,” Odinga said, adding that, “We do not want the destruction of properties and economic sabotage. All we want is the government to fulfill its promises to traders and Kenyans facing the tough effects of the economy.”
Mercy Awuor, one of the traders whose stall was ravaged by fire said that “We elected many leaders in Kibra but since the fire incident they have vanished. All we want to know is whether or not our help was released. We also want to know whether our leaders whom we elected really care for us.”
On the other hand, Amian Salim, also a trader, said they visited the office of Kibra lawmaker Peter Orero to inquire about their fate but were told to wait.
“We are still waiting up to date.”
The business people along Makina, Karanja and Olympic lost millions as unknown people looted and torched their businesses during the weekly anti-government demonstrations.
Many stalls that were torched are yet to be rebuilt. However, other traders have taken loans to rebuild their structures.
“I can’t keep on waiting for iron sheets. My children need to eat, we need to pay back our loans and restock. We are not sure if we have leaders or if we have been neglected,” said one of the traders.
Mr Odinga called the protests to put pressure on President William Ruto’s government to lower the cost of living and address electoral reforms.
The opposition leader later called off the protests in favour of dialogue with the government.
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