Kisii locals have called upon their county government to ban begging in the town.
They say most street beggars have become a nuisance to them.
“You can’t walk comfortably in town without the nuisance of one or two beggars. Some especially children have a tendency of following someone despite you telling them you got no money. This is really irritating,” said Teresina Mongina, a resident.
She added that sometimes the beggars follow passers by to their destinations for Sh5.
“It is very embarrassing when you find a kid following you asking for Sh5 yet you don’t have,” she added.
They claim some of them have taken up the issue of begging as a profession for seeking money even with the ability of working.
They say the beggars are also a security threat.
“This beggars when they find you in lonely street they may even steal from you. I once was followed by two beggars and when I told them I had no money at the moment and I would give them the next day. They would not listen. One of them got hold of my handbag and I told him to let me go but he couldn’t. Some two others followed holding my bag. I was forced to give them Sh200 I had,” Vivian Nyaboke said.
They called upon the county government to build the street beggars a home to curb the menace.