Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has ordered city enforcement officers popularly known as kanjos to arrest and detain those filming them during arrests.
Addressing the officers on Sunday, Sakaja termed those filming them as obstruction to the enforcement of justice.
“A few people are looking for clout and sensationalizing things. You arrest someone and they scatter their goodies. Does it mean offenders should be sang a song? Order must be maintained. Also, arrest those recording. That is obstruction of enforcement of justice. Do your work. Do the right thing. Have you ever seen them record the police?” Sakaja posed.
He however admitted that there are a few kanjos meting injustice against Nairobians, promising support for those doing the right thing.
“There might be one or two elements giving kanjo a bad name but if you know you are doing the right thing and your conscience is clear, know that governor is behind you,” he added.
Several small-scale traders in the city have been counting losses lately following arrests by kanjos, who scatter their goods and even sometimes destroy them.
Sakaja’s turnaround
The new directive is a turnaround by the governor, who in 2023 was forced to apologise to street vendors harassed by kanjos on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
In a statement, Sakaja announced that he had compensated the vendors with Ksh10,000 each for the loss incurred during the operation which saw several lose valuables.
“The happenings in the CBD earlier today were most unfortunate. This is not the way to treat Nairobians as we have continually implored our officers to treat Nairobians with dignity,” Sakaja stated.
According to Sakaja, the incident was an effort to sabotage his administration, which he says has enjoyed a cordial relationship with the vendors.
“We have had cordial relations with informal traders for a year but lately, there have been unfortunate incidences that seek to sabotage that,” he added.
Sakaja went further to order the release of all confiscated items and promised to take disciplinary action against the askaris involved.
“We will take disciplinary action. I have ordered the immediate release of all confiscated items, apologized to the traders and personally compensated each of them to the tune of 10,000 shillings each,” Sakaja said.
According to the city boss, the vendors did not deserve such treatment, even though some of them have not met all the legal requirements to operate in the city.
“Even if the traders were operating without the required documentation, including a Medical Certificate from Public Health that every food handler must have for the safety of Nairobians, they did not deserve such treatment and we are dealing with this internally,” Sakaja stated.
However, several vendors have been harassed by kanjos since Sakaja issued the directive last year, the latest having been filmed by comedian-turned-activist Eric Omondi.
