Vendors tussle cause commotion in Lilongwe
Business in Malawian capital Lilongwe on Tuesday came to a standstill forcing nearly all shops in the city’s Old Town and Malangalanga sections to close after a group of concerned vendors from the designated flea market tussled to remove their colleagues who went back to prohibited street vending.
The commotion resulted in some vendors stoning and damaging several vehicles, especially minibuses, a situation which prompted anti-riot police to intervene to quell the turmoil.
It all started around 9am when the group of concerned vendors, mainly second-hand clothes sellers confronted their leadership complaining that government was not helping them to remove vendors from the streets, saying their sales had slumped because of revamped and unabated street vending in the city’s streets.
The concerned vendors went around town on their own without the aid of police to remove all vendors who had already gone on the streets with their merchandise.
In an interview on Tuesday, Lilongwe Vendors Association chairperson James Yerayera Soko said it was difficult for his committee to stop the concerned vendors from removing those vending on the streets because his committee was already considering taking the same action.
He said his committee met senior government officials last week about concerns on the return of street vending in the town’s streets which he said contributes to increasing cases of robbery.
In an interview, Lilongwe Police deputy spokesperson Kingsley Dandaula said police intervened to prevent some people from taking advantage of the commotion to loot shops.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Grace Maseko did not answer her phone yesterday while her ministry’s spokesperson Maganizo Mazeze said he was abroad. Lilongwe City Council’s spokesperson Tamara Chafunya could also not be reached Tuesday.
