RONGO: Shoe shiners and cobblers in Rongo town, Migori County, are counting heavy losses after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) demolished their business structures following the lapse of a vacation notice.

The traders, who are now appealing to the county government to intervene and help them erect new structures, faulted the highways authority for the clampdown. They argued that the road contractor had previously allocated them the designated spaces.

Erick Okuma, the chairperson of the Rongo Shoe Shiners and Repairers Association, stated that the surprise demolition has disrupted their livelihoods and left members facing massive financial damage.

“When the contractor was working on the roads within the town, we requested them to designate specific areas where we could safely carry out our businesses, and they did so. An engineer, known to us as Eng Mageto, designated these spaces for us well away from the main highway. Yet today, they have been completely destroyed,” Mr Okuma lamented.

He added: “These sheds are our sole source of income. By demolishing them, you are rendering us jobless, yet we have families depending on us for survival.”

The affected traders called upon Governor Ochillo Ayacko’s county administration to step in and secure alternative modern structures so they can resume their operations.

“It is the county government that erected the sheds for us. We do not understand how KeNHA can turn around and destroy them, especially when the project engineer explicitly granted us these spaces,” one of the traders noted.