Tens of hundreds of Nakuru town based roadside food Kioks operators have been rendered jobless following an acute outbreak of the dreaded cholera disease in parts of the town which made them forced to close their business.
On Monday the Nakuru County government through the Public Health Department banned food hawking in Nakuru town and its environs after more than thirty people mainly from Slum areas in the town were hospitalised and diagnosed with cholera.
A spot check by this writer today (Thursday) revealed that scores of food Kiosks that strategically target casual workers in industrial area and local Colleges and University students and workers along Government Road, Moi Avenue, Kabarak Road and Nyahururu-Nakuru Highway were closed over fear of being arrested.
The county Public Health Officer Samuel King’ori told Journalists on Wednesday during a surveillance tour by the Nakuru Cholera Surveillance Committee that was formed on Monday following the outbreak reports, that the ban on food hawking would stay for as long as the Committee was not convinced about the safety of food hawking adding that any food hawker found breaking the directive would be arrested and taken to Court.
Nahashon Mulama a food Kiosk operator along Kabarak Road near the Nakuru Medical Training College said that the directive had not only affected his income generation, but also hundreds of his customers who mostly comprise College students.
“As far as we are concerned, this ban has affected our income generation and also inconvenienced our customers most of whom are College students. We pray that the situation comes back to normal soon,’’ said Mulama adding that he earns over Sh5,000 profit on normal situations.