President William Ruto's economic adviser David Ndii has criticised Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja after photos and videos of hawkers forcefully ejected from the Central Business District (CBD) went viral on social media.
Ndii was among other Kenyans on X who came to the defence of the hawkers while at the same time calling out Sakaja's administration.
"The Nairobi county leadership is not hustler friendly. That's why I keep prodding Sakaja on it," wrote Ndii.
Ndii claimed that Sakaja campaigned on a promise to bring order to the city and among the proposals he had was to put some of the hawkers in markets which cannot work.
"Street vendors are on streets because that's where customers are," he posted.
A video shared by a user (@Haaland_sholla) showed several men getting the trolleys onto the truck.
"Look at this; this is Nairobi Kenya. Africans treating each other like (sic)...why would you take trolleys of Kenyans with eggs and smokies trying to earn a living?" the user wrote.
According to him, the county government should construct a makeshift establishment where hawkers can sell instead of forcefully evicting them.
Another user @_Yanon sarcastically remarked: "Hii ni serikali ya hustlers. Look at our god loving government help smokie pasua vendors transport their trolleys from one street to another, so beautiful. Sakaja tano tena."
But other came in their troops to support the decision.
@Dexter254C wrote "All Kenyans should pay tax and county government licenses. Paying tax and licenses is not the preserve of select Kenyans."
He added: "Allow Sakaja time to put proper structures or designated stands where they can work from and be vetted whether they observe proper sanitation to avoid diseases."
