Smokie, bodaboda traders cry foul in Kasarani following closure of liquor shops
The government has intensified its operation to wipe out second-generation alcohol across the country.
In Nairobi County, the operation has left hundreds of people who depending on managing of liquor shops to make a living struggling to make ends meet.
In Nairobi, the multi-agency operation led by the national and county government led to the closure of ten pubs in Kasarani.
The county government asserts that more than 150 liquor shops have been closed since the operation commenced. Those found operating without a licence have been arrested.
The operation has affected several areas, including the vicinity around the United States International University (USIU) where liquor shops boasted booming business.
A spot check by Nairobi News indicates the smell of alcohol, and loud music associated with the wine and liquor shops in the area is now a thing of the past, replaced by the attractive smell of food from the surrounding kiosks, but without people to eat it.
According to a spot check by Nairobi News, most liquor shops around the area have been shut down in a move that appears to be affecting other businesses.
Otieno who sells smokies and eggs says he used to make up to Sh3000 a day.
Since the operation, however, he has been closed to shut down the business as most students who consumed his smokies did so as an escort to the alcohol they were consuming at the time.
“The students would buy alcohol and drink with smokies. Now they have kept away. The government is closing businesses here and leaving traders who work hard without a living. They should rethink this move,” he said.
Also affected are motorbike operators, commonly referred to as bodaboda, who used to ferry clients to and from the liquor shops in the evening and late in the night.
Other traders in the area have asked the government to sit down with the liquor shops sellers so as to come up with a win-win formula.
Other traders have vowed to fight the operation in court.
Also read: Ugandans turn on Deputy Mayor Doreen Nyanjura for giving birth
Engaged and creating music: Jamaican dancehall star Vybez Kartel’s life in prison