Mudete: Traders at Mudete Market in Vihiga County have decried a wave of criminal activities and insecurity following a surge in break-ins and looting of shops, which has left many traders counting losses worth thousands of shillings. In a recent incident, a businessman, Hassan Somo, a clothes dealer, lost all his stock after his boutique was broken into at night by unknown criminals.
According to Kenya News Agency, the market has experienced a series of burglaries in the last two weeks, with criminals taking advantage of darkness at the trading centre, despite police patrols. In another incident, a tailor’s shop was broken into and the sewing machines stolen alongside other merchandise, while computers worth hundreds of thousands were stolen from another electronics shop.
Further reports indicate that another general shop, a butchery, and a well-stocked shoe shop were invaded and all their goods and products were looted. The boutique lost all the clothes, the butchery lost meat, knives, and pangas, while the shoe shop lost the entire stock of brand-new shoes. The traders alleged the daring thugs also vandalized a transformer at the market and stole valuables.
Erick Sogoni, a trader from Mudete, heaved the blame on the county government for the persistent darkness after street lighting was removed to pave the way for the installation of solar street lights. They said the move has given thieves an opportunity to operate. ‘The county government is replacing electric lights with solar street lights. It would have been safer if they had installed the solar lights before bringing down the electric ones,’ remarked Sogoni.
However, Sogoni admitted that the traders partly share the blame for not taking adequate security measures, such as hiring night guards to watch over their premises. He has appealed to the county government to speed up the installation of solar lights to light up the area and to enhance night patrols to arrest the culprits. Sogoni also called upon fellow traders to jointly hire security personnel to guard the market at night as they await action from the authorities, expressing fear that more traders will suffer losses if the darkness persists.
