A copy of the letter allegedly sent out to residents by County Government of Mandera. [Photo/Nazir]
Grief and apprehension hung over Mandera as residents of the town feel hopeless and cannot help themselves out in the face of rotating letters received by everyone who had a small scale business around the town center
Residents allege that the county director of lands, housing, urban development and physical planning Mr. Rashid Hassan Harun on December 27, 2017, sent a letter with a strong message to every small-scale business owner who has been depending on their shops as the only source of income for almost 2 decades now. The director, on the letter which was sent out, carried a threatening message ordering the poor people who are voiceless to vacate failure to which stern action will be taken against them.
A resident of the county claims the deadline of the vacation is today.
These small-scale businesses are majorly run by mothers and poor physically disabled men who are the sole breadwinners of orphans to provide their sustenance and their learning materials.
Elmi one of the victims said this brutal act is not what they were expecting from the sitting county government, "I have nowhere else to build my life better than this small shop as an Mpesa agent, it's very painful when the government in power uses the same power that was given to them by the people in swiping them off just because they can," he said
Residents feel the governor is not friendly to consider their plight either and thus all this is happening through his order.
Removing forcibly the belongings of the poor helpless residents is not what they feel as a solution to build the face of Mandera town better.
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